


To That Beautiful Place

by AnnaWatermelon



Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-05-09 20:52:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 47,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5554928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaWatermelon/pseuds/AnnaWatermelon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Princess Diaries AU: On Taemin’s 18th birthday, his uncle reveals an unbelievable secret; he’s the king of Aellyn, and Taemin is next in line for the throne.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Epitome of Sex Appeal

**Author's Note:**

> My first fanfiction. I've already published it on my tumblr and on asianfanfics, but under my friends suggestion, I've decided to publish it here! It's still a work in progress, so I'll continue to update this work until it's finished! Thank you so much for reading <3

“Your majesty, it’s this week. Are you sure you’re ready to do this?”

“To be honest, no. But I have to do it. He deserves to know the truth and the country deserves a proper ruler.”

“But sir, you haven’t seen him in years. How can you be sure he’ll be a good fit for this country?”

The king smiled. “If he’s anything like his father, he’ll be more than a good fit. He will be the one to progress our country, and our people, towards a bright future. I have faith in that.”

* * *

Taemin forced his eyes open the slightest bit to take in his groggy appearance in the mirror. His newly dyed purple hair was tossed in every direction, his hand lazily dragging a toothbrush against his teeth, and toothpaste was spilling from his mouth to his chin. _Congratulations, Lee Taemin. You are the epitome of sex appeal._

After he had cleaned his teeth, put on his school uniform, and successfully made his hair look like it was not just attacked by a rabid squirrel, he sat across from his mother at their dining room table.

“Morning, dear.” She said from behind her coffee cup.

Taemin grabbed the box of Cheerios his mom had left out and poured it into a bowl. “Hi.”

Ms. Lee took another sip of her black coffee. “So, your birthday’s tomorrow. Do you have any plans I should know about?”

“I don’t know,” he shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth and continued speaking, “I’ll probably invite Minho over. Play some video games.” He squinted his eyes in thought. “Can we order pizza?”

“That’s it? You don’t want to do anything…special? You are turning 18, after all.”

Taemin finished off his breakfast by tipping the bowl to his mouth and drinking it in three big slurps. “I’m a simple guy with simple needs,” he shrugged and licked the milk off his lips.

“Okay, if you say so.” She raised her eyebrows and made her way towards her toolbox.

Taemin pulled on his backpack and headed towards the door. “Bye, mom. I hope you don’t have to fix any toilets today.”

She snorted. “Yeah, wishful thinking. Don’t grow up to be a mechanic like me, Taemin. It stinks. Literally.”

* * *

“Riding a scooter to school is the fucking coolest, okay. I don’t care what anyone says, I look totally swaggy right now.”

Minho couldn’t decide whether to laugh at Taemin’s ridiculous statement or to disown him as a friend forever. “Well as long as it gets you to school, I guess it’s fine. You still look like a fucking idiot, though.”

“Says the guy wearing heelies.”

“Hey, heelies are cool! They come with all the perks of roller blades, but they can turn back into sneakers with no problem. And I don’t have to lock them up against a bike rack, either, because they’re always with me.”

Taemin pretended that Minho didn’t just make a valuable point. “Whatever.”

Minho smiled as they rode next to each other on the sidewalk. They’d been best friends since middle school, when they were forced into band class by the principal and quickly found out that they both suck at the tuba. But hey, at least they sucked together, and being the two worst musicians in the entire band class brought them closer than any non-sucky-ness could’ve ever hoped to.

“Hey, I’ll see you at lunch, okay?” Minho called as he heelied backwards towards the school so he could face Taemin, who was locking his scooter up.

“Yes, hyung.” Taemin called back, unenthusiastically waving at his friend while focusing on the lock in front of him.

“Heelies rule, scooters drool.” Minho shouted from the entryway of the school. When Taemin turned to glare at him, he was already running inside.

“You little shit.”

* * *

“By the way, I forgot to ask this morning because of our heated debate, but do you want to come over after school tomorrow? My mom’s ordering pizza.”

Minho and Taemin were sitting on a stone ledge by the school parking lot eating lunch. Technically, they weren’t allowed to leave the building, but as long as they weren’t doing anything illegal, none of the teachers really cared.

“Oh yeah, it’s your birthday!” Minho said after he finished his Go-Gurt. “I have to help my dad out at the shop for awhile, but I’ll be done probably around six. Is it cool if I drop by at like, 6:15?”

“Of course it is.” Taemin replied. “You better get me a really great present, though.”

“Yeah, like my dick in a box.”

Taemin hit Minho’s shoulders and debated whether or not he should throw his orange right at Minho’s smug face. “Shut up.”

* * *

The two seniors rode back to their homes together, like they always did, separating once Minho reached his block.

“See you tomorrow!” Minho waved.

Taemin rode the rest of the way home by himself. Sometimes he considered taking the city bus to and from school, because riding his scooter alone in the big city made him kind of anxious. He could run into a drug dealer, or worse, a Jehovah witness. The thought alone made him shudder.

Finally, he walked through the front door and was greeted by the smell of his mother’s kimchi. “I’m home, mom.”

“Taemin!” She hurried towards her son, eyes wide and mouth open.

“Uh, what is it?” Taemin asked, wondering why the hell his mother literally ran up to him the second he walked through the door.

“I got a call today. Your uncle Jinki is going to be in town and he wants you to stop by his place tomorrow.”

Ah, yes. Uncle Jinki. Taemin hadn’t actually seen the man in over a decade, but he always sent him a shitload of cash every birthday. The guy was stupid rich.

“He wants me to come over on my birthday?”

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but he probably has something planned for you. A present, or something, you know?” She made her way back towards the kitchen. “He left an address; it’s on the counter. You can stop by after school, say ‘hello’, and then ride back home, okay?”

Taemin picked up the sticky note his mom used to scratch down uncle Jinki’s address, eyeing it like it was a bug instead of a piece of paper. “Do I have to go? Minho-hyung’s coming over…”

Ms. Lee glared over her shoulder. “Yes, you do. He’s family. And I’m sure you’ll be home in time to hang out with Minho.”

He sighed in defeat. “Okay, mom…”

* * *

“I didn’t know you had a rich uncle.” Minho said. They were at their usual lunch spot, sharing a bag of Doritos.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen him since I was like, 7 or something. But he sends me a shit ton of money every birthday, so that’s pretty cool I guess…” Taemin trailed off, popping another chip into his mouth. “Anyways, my mom said I shouldn’t be there too long, but if I don’t make it home by the time you’re there, just chill out or something. You’re bringing Smash Bros, right?”

“Hell yeah I’m bringing Smash Bros! Which reminds me, you probably want me to bring my PS4, right?”

Taemin smiled. “Right.”

“Good, cause I just got this really cool game called PT, you’re gonna love it! It’s only a demo, but I swear you’ll shit your pants. It’s that good.”

“Awesome.” Taemin heard some giggling and saw some movement behind Minho’s shoulder. He didn’t even have to double check to know what it was. “Uh, hyung? I think some of your fangirls are spying on you. Again.”

Minho turned around to see for himself, squinting at a window not too far off. “Yeah, it’s definitely them. I wish they’d leave me alone.” He said, sulking slightly. Taemin didn’t really blame the girls. Minho had a masculine face, and was a star player on the soccer team, but that didn’t give the girls the right to stalk him like he was some idol.

“Come on, hyung, let’s go eat inside.” Taemin said, wrapping an arm around Minho’s shoulder and leading into the school. Those girls got on his nerves.

Minho gave a gracious smile. “Thanks, Tae. And happy birthday.”

* * *

Taemin looked back and forth from his mother’s sticky note to the house in front of him. Actually, calling it a house was an understatement. The thing was HUGE. It looked like it came straight from the set of a Hollywood movie, with marble pillars surrounding the building, stone paths snaking through a garden with every kind of flower, which eventually led to the large, silver gate right in front of Taemin. He knew his uncle was rich, but he didn’t think he was _that_ rich.

Reluctantly, he pushed a button on the stone wall connected to the front gate. “Please state your name and purpose,” a man’s voice from the speaker above the doorbell announced.

“Uh, I’m Lee Taemin, I came to see my uncle, but I think I have the wrong address…”

“No, sir. Please come in.” A buzzing noise resounded in his ears as the gate slowly opened. He gradually made his way towards the mansion, suddenly feeling a million butterflies in his stomach. He felt so out of place, being around such intricate decor while he was still in his dingy uniform. Eventually, he was at the front door, which was made out of a shiny dark wood. He turned the golden handle and came face to face with a young man typing at a desk. The man looked up when he heard Taemin enter, and smiled.

“Hello, sir. I’m assuming you’re Mr. Lee Taemin?”

Taemin nodded sheepishly.

“If you’ll please take a seat,” he gestured towards a red, velvety chair, “his high- I mean, Mr. Lee Jinki, will be here in a minute.”

Taemin nodded again, sitting down and letting out a huge breath. His uncle even had a secretary? What kind of person was he?

The young man continued typing, and Taemin took a better look at the inside of the house. The floor was a slightly reddish wood, polished so fine Taemin could see his own reflection (and his reflection told him that he needed to fix his hair, pronto). The walls were covered in a floral design, and it appeared to be hand-painted. Lastly, the ceiling held a large, crystal chandelier. _Just like Phantom of the Opera_ , Taemin thought. The idea made him smile, and his nerves were calmed ever so slightly. He turned back to look at the young man, only now realizing there was a nameplate on his desk. It read Kim Kibum.

Just then, an older, balding man appeared in the side hallway. “Hello, Mr. Taemin. I’ve come to escort you to Sir Jinki.”

Escort? _Escort?!_ This was way too fancy for Taemin’s liking. He was starting to regret coming here. “Please, just call me Taemin.” He managed to say.

The older man gave a gentle smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it, sir. Now please, follow me.”

Taemin followed the man through a hallway that was just as ornate as the first room he was in, with doors lining each of the walls. At the end of it was a very bright room with marble floors. The reason it was so bright, Taemin saw once he entered, was because there was hardly any walls, only large windows, allowing the occupants of the room to see outside. In the middle of the room was a glass table surrounded by light green chairs and sofa, and sitting on the sofa was, as Taemin remembered, his uncle Jinki. When Jinki saw Taemin, he smiled and put his tea down. “Taemin! Come sit by me!”

Well, that was a lot more casual than Taemin expected. Also, his uncle had a really dorky smile, like it was trying to take over his entire face. Taemin also thought he looked oddly young, and then realized he didn’t even know how old Jinki was. If his father were still alive, he would be what? 43? And since Jinki’s the younger sibling, he’s probably around 35… Taemin shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and sat next to this man who was basically a stranger, trying his best to reciprocate the warm smile.

“Happy birthday!” Jinki said, reaching behind him for a small, purple box. He let out a small laugh. “Look at that, it matches your hair!”

Taemin gratefully took the gift from his uncle, struggling to untie the bow.

“Sorry about calling you over so suddenly. Must have been quite a shock!”

“It’s not a problem. But to be honest, I am kind of intimidated by your house.”

Jinki laughed. He had a really warm laugh that filled the entire room, but wasn’t loud or obnoxious.

Taemin finally opened the present, and opened it to find a silver watch. “Woah, is this real?”

“Indeed it is. It belonged to your father,” Jinki said, still smiling.

“Th-thank you…” Taemin said, putting it on his wrist. It felt awkward receiving a gift that he knew was super expensive, especially since the person who gave it to him was staring at him excessively. “I’ll wear it everyday.”

“Great. I’m glad you like it.” Jinki said. He finally stopped looking at Taemin, turning his head to take a sip of his tea. While Jinki drank, Taemin watched, biting his own lip in nervousness. He wasn’t sure what else he should say.

“Uh, would you like some tea, Taemin?” Jinki asked.

Taemin shook his head. “No thanks, I’m fine.” Actually, he was rather parched, but he honestly just wanted to leave this house. It was so elegant, and HUGE, it was making him dizzy. The younger man cleared his throat. “Well, um, I actually have to go meet my friend, so…”

Jinki suddenly looked very urgent. “No! I mean, uh, please. I came here to tell you something really important.”

Taemin lightly grabbed his slacks. “What is it?”

“So, uh, you know…the country Aellyn, right?”

“Yes?”

“Well, um, you see…there’s really no way to tell you this besides saying it outright.”

Taemin tried to nod in understanding, but in reality he was confused as hell.

Jinki pushed his bangs out of the way before speaking again. “Taemin, I am the king of Aellyn, which makes you a prince.”


	2. Taemin's A Piss Baby

“Taemin, I am the king of Aellyn, which makes you a prince. “

Taemin just stared into space, running that sentence through his head a couple thousand times. “Excuse me?” He certainly couldn’t have heard that right.

Jinki sighed. “Your father, being the older of us two, was supposed to rule the kingdom, but after he died…”

Was he being for real right now? He sounded so serious… “Are you trying to tell me my dad was…a prince?”

“Yes, Taemin. And so are you.” Jinki gave what he hoped to be a comforting pat on Taemin’s shoulder. “Your parents and I thought it would be best to tell you once you turned 18, and seeing how…”

“Wait!” Taemin suddenly shouted, exasperated. “…you’re serious about this?” He was panting slightly. “I’m royalty?”

Jinki looked at him with wide eyes. “I would never joke about this, Taemin.”

“But I can’t be…” He rummaged through his head, searching for an explanation. He had only ever really been in contact with his mother’s side of the family; he’d seen a few pictures of his dad’s, but had never actually met any of them besides Jinki. Since he really didn’t know anything about his father’s roots, it was possible for him to be of royal descent…

Jinki put his arm on Taemin’s shoulder again. “I know this must be a shock for you, but if we don’t keep our bloodline in power, it could be catastrophic for the country…”

Taemin bolted up. “I’m going home. Right now.” Not even bothering to pick up his gift, he sprinted towards the front door, almost knocking into one of the potted plants.

“Taemin, wait!” Jinki shouted, but it was too late. Taemin had already slammed the front door and probably already speeding away on his scooter.

Jinki turned towards a figure who had been hiding in a nearby hallway with an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry for calling you here, Jonghyun. I guess we’ll have to wait for another time…”

* * *

A million thoughts were racing through Taemin’s head as he sped past slightly annoyed people on the sidewalk. He was planning on going to community college with Minho, studying dance, making a living as a choreographer…if his uncle had been telling the truth (which he was reluctant to believe), this would set his entire life off track. Don’t princes have to like, be proper and stuff? Like, dress fancy, talk to political diplomats, go to dinners with a billion spoons? His head was spinning at the mere thought of it…

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost ran right into Minho, who was riding his heelies towards Taemin’s house.

“Taemin? Are you okay?” Minho asked, taking in Taemin’s windswept hair, loud panting, and wide eyes. “Why were you going so fast? Are you running from someone?” He looked over Taemin’s shoulders to see if some creeper was chasing after him.

“No, hyung, I’m fine.” Taemin said in between pants. “Uh, you’re going to my house, right?”

“Yeah, I am…” He shifted uncomfortably. “Are you sure you’re alright? You look like someone tried to mug you.”

“I swear I’m fine, hyung. Let’s just go.” Taemin continued moving forward, with Minho following close behind.

* * *

The front door was locked when Taemin tried to get inside his house. _Mom must not be home yet,_ Taemin thought. _What, is she avoiding me? Good thing, cause I’m kinda pissed…_ He never spoke ill about his mother like that, but given the circumstances…

The door swung open with a creak after Taemin unlocked it with his spare key. The pizza was already sitting on the dining table, which means his mother must have been here at one point.

“I’ll fix you a plate if you set up the consoles, okay?”

“Where’s your mom?”

Taemin shrugged, and Minho trudged towards the living room with two bags in his arms; one to hold the video games, the other to hold what Taemin assumed to be his present.

“Here you go.” Taemin handed Minho a plate after he had finished plugging his PS4 into the television.

“Thanks.”

They sat in awkward silence as they shot at each other on the screen, Minho trying to make eye contact, and Taemin stuck in his own little world.

After a few minutes had gone by in this manner, Minho had had enough and paused the game. “Okay, I’m not an idiot. I can tell something’s bothering you so just tell me. It’s freaking me out.”

Taemin didn’t particularly want to think about what had transpired at Jinki’s house, mainly because he didn’t want it to be true, but when he saw his best friend glaring at him, he saw a flicker of worry in his eye. He knew Minho deserved to know the truth.

“Well I went to my uncle’s house, which was really more like a mansion to be honest, and he told me he’s the king of Aellyn, you know that little country south of us? And at first I thought he was just shitting with me but he looked so serious and he said _I’m_ supposedly a prince? I just don’t even want to think about it…”

“Wait, for real?”

“Yeah, but I’m still not sure he’s telling the truth.”

Minho leaned back, his brow furrowed in thought. “Does your mom know this?”

“He said that my parents and him agreed to wait until my 18th birthday, so I’m assuming yes…”

“Well…isn’t this a good thing?”

“What?!” Taemin asked incredulously.

“I mean, well, who doesn’t want to be rich? And this will make it a lot easier for you to get recognition as a dancer…”

“But hyung, he wants me to rule a country.”

“He wants YOU to run a country?!” Minho couldn’t stop the laughter from bursting out of his mouth. “Has he MET you?!”

Taemin scowled, annoyed by Minho’s sudden outburst. “Of course he has, I just talked to him today, shithead.”

Minho was now lying on his back, holding his stomach as sharp laughter escaped from his lips.

“If you’re not going to take this seriously, I’m going to kick you out.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Minho said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “But does he seriously want you rule the country? You are only 18…”

“He said that if I don’t take the throne, it could be catastrophic for the nation.”

Minho whistled. “That’s deep…and also stupidly insensitive. How can he expect you to be okay with becoming a king when you haven’t even graduated high school?”

Taemin put his head in his hands and keeled over. “I don’t know…”

Minho hugged Taemin’s shoulders. “I’m sorry I can’t do much, but there’s still your present…”

He sat up and attempted a smile. “Gimme.”

Minho scoffed. “You can be such a spoiled brat.” He joked, handing Taemin the glossy bag.

As Taemin tossed the thin paper out of the bag, Minho pulled a letter out of his pocket and slipped it towards him. Inside the bag was a red baseball cap.

“For your hair.” Minho said, scuffing up Taemin’s hair.

“Hey!” Taemin shot back, putting it back into place. Then he noticed the card, and opened that up next. The inside read,

_Taemin,_

_Since I started school late, I’ve always been the oldest in our class. At first it annoyed me, but now I’m glad it happened, because I made a friend out of a scrawny little asshole who couldn’t play the tuba in the 7th grade. Initially, I felt the need to look after this fragile young boy as his hyung, but as I got to know you, I saw the truth; you are an incredibly driven and talented person, and, to be perfectly honest, an inspiration to me. I’m proud to call you my friend._

_Whatever challenges we face as we head into college, I want to be by your side the entire time._

_From: The coolest person you know (aka Minho)_

“Tae, your nose is running.”

* * *

It wasn’t until midnight the front door finally opened for the first time since Taemin arrived. There was no light in the house besides the television, but Taemin could still make out the shape of his mother.

“Mom?” Taemin whispered so he didn’t wake Minho up after he had fallen asleep on the couch.

Ms. Lee gasped after she heard Taemin’s voice. “Oh, Taeminnie. I didn’t realize you were awake.”

“We need to talk.” The words felt strange as Taemin spoke them; usually it was his mother saying them to him. He turned around and headed towards his mom’s bedroom, so they could speak comfortably without Minho waking up. Once they were both inside, his mother shut the door.

“I’m sorry, Taemin.”

“For what? Coming home late or, you know, lying to me for 18 years?” He seethed.

Tears started forming in her eyes as she spoke. “I just wanted you to have a normal childhood, Taemin.”

“You couldn’t have at least given me hints or something? I know nothing, _nothing_ , about ruling a country.”

“But your uncle will provide lessons for you, and you won’t have to rule unless Jinki is rendered unable to, which probably won’t happen until he’s very old, and-”

“Mom, please.” Taemin interrupted. “I don’t care how many lessons he gives me, I don’t want to be a king.”

She sighed. “I know it’s not fair…” She approached her son to give him a hug, but he pulled away. “Let’s see if we can reach a compromise, sweetie.”

Taemin scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“You don’t have to rule if you don’t want to, but if you don’t, our family will lose control of the country. Since this is obviously a really big decision, I’m not going to force you into ruling. However, I will encourage you to take lessons from uncle Jinki and then decide if you want to take the throne. Okay?”

“What? No! I want nothing to do with this!”

“Do it or I’m taking away your cellphone.”

“Ugh, mom…”

“Minho can come with you.”

Taemin pursed his lips in thought. He still didn’t want to do it, but even if he didn’t want to, it wouldn’t change his birthright. But if Minho’s there, that might make it bearable…and he definitely didn’t want his phone taken away…

“Fine.”

She was finally able to hug her son without him pulling away. “Thanks, Taeminnie.”

* * *

Minho stood next to Taemin in front of the same silver gate in front of Jinki’s house, er…mansion?

Taemin pushed the doorbell as Minho’s mouth dropped so low it almost reached the ground. “It’s Lee Taemin, again…”

“Please enter, your highness.”

Taemin outright groaned. He will never, ever, get used to being called that.

“Are you sure I’m allowed to be here?” Minho asked, clinging to Taemin’s sleeve as he walked towards the front door uncertainly.

“My mom said she called to let them know you and I would be here, so I guess it’s fine.” He opened the door and was greeted by the same secretary as yesterday.

“Ah, sir Taemin. Pleased to see you again.” He grinned even wider than yesterday, and Taemin swore he saw a pink tint to his cheeks. “Please head down this hall; his highness is waiting for you in the garden.”

“Thanks, Mr. Kim.” Taemin replied, recalling the name plate he saw yesterday. He didn’t notice Minho’s eyes lingering on the secretary longer than necessary as they walked down the hallway.

Taemin didn’t exactly know his way around, but luckily it wasn’t hard to find a door that led to the garden thanks to Kibum’s directions. After that, he followed the sound of people’s voices until he saw Jinki sitting at a picnic table with a man whose back was turned to himself and Minho.

“Taemin! You’re here!” Jinki greeted with that same goofy smile. He stood up, his arms instinctively reaching for a hug, but instead he just grasped Taemin’s shoulders, smile faltering the tiniest bit. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I’m just here for the lessons; I’m not actually going to rule Aellyn.”

Jinki pointedly ignored that comment. “And Minho! It is so nice to meet you!”

“N-nice to meet you to, your highness…” Minho was visibly shaking from the nerves.

“Call me Jinki, please.” He shook Minho’s hand. “And now, most importantly, Taemin, I’d like for you to meet your instructor! He will be teaching you our country’s history, our policies, public speaking, table manners, and so on and so forth. He will also act as your chauffeur.”

“I don’t need one.”

Jinki ignored Taemin’s comment again. The man whose back was turned to them stood up and approached Taemin with an outstretched arm.

“I’m Kim Jonghyun. I look forward to working with you.”


	3. Ten Outta Ten

“Would you mind explaining why he’s circling me like a vulture, again?”

Taemin was standing in the middle of one of Jinki’s sitting rooms, while his uncle sat at the couch, sipping his tea next to Minho, who was snickering behind his hand. The man Taemin just met, Kim Jonghyun, was at a nearby chair, being uncomfortably silent.

“I told you,” Jinki said, setting his cup down on the glass table, “in order to be a prince, you have to at least look professional.”

“I get that, but why is your secretary the one judging my appearance?” Taemin asked, eyeing the man in question.

“I used to go to beauty school.” Kibum replied bluntly.

“Then why are you a secretary?”

“I got kicked out of beauty school.”

Taemin groaned as obnoxiously as possible, eliciting more giggles from Minho. Everyone in the room furrowed their eyebrows at him.

“I’m sorry,” Minho said between chuckles, “but you do realize how pointless this is, right? Have you seen him?” He gestured towards his best friend. “You couldn’t make that look professional in a million years.”

“Thanks, dude.” Taemin rolled his eyes. Before Minho could reply, a hand was tugging through Taemin’s hair.

“This is no good; your hair’s been bleached so much it feels like hay.” Kibum said. Taemin yanked his head away from his hand, only for his chin to be caught in Kibum’s grip instead.

“You have awful complexion, have you ever washed your face?” Taemin tried pushing against Kibum’s chest, but his grip stayed firm. “At least you have plump lips; perfect for kissing.”

Taemin turned beet red and nearly punched Kibum in the chest, finally escaping from his grip. Kibum just smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Is this a joke to you?!” Taemin yelled.

“Chill out, I was just kidding.”

“It’s not funny!”

“Taemin-ah, please calm down.” Jinki had stood up and was standing next to Kibum, arm around his shoulders. “You must understand, Kibum is just…uh…”

“Awesome?” Kibum interrupted.

“Difficult.” Jinki finished and patted his shoulder. “But really, purple is not the nicest looking color…”

“So what? Are you gonna make me dye it?” Taemin scoffed.

“Great idea! We’ll do it right now, and give you a special shampoo. I’ll have someone drop face cream at your house in the meantime.”

“Wait, what?”

* * *

“Contact Mars,” Minho said in a weird alien voice, pretending his finger was an antennae behind Taemin’s head.

“Fuck off!” Taemin yelled, pushing his best friend away, who was laughing obnoxiously.

“Not gonna lie, you do look like an alien.” Kibum said, observing Taemin’s aluminum covered head.

“This was your idea!” Taemin said. “I didn’t even want to get my hair dyed!”

“Whatever, “ Kibum replied flippantly. All five men were inside of the mansion’s salon, a narrow room with turquoise walls. When Taemin asked why the hell Jinki even has this room, Jinki said that a royal should always have a private boutique. Taemin thought a public salon would’ve done the trick just fine, which led to fight between him and Kibum, which subsequently led to Kibum nearly ripping Taemin’s hair out as he washed it. Now they were just lazing around waiting for the dye to settle. “What we have to do now is get you some clothes. Your converse are falling apart and look like someone shat on them.”

“But these are my favorite shoes! I wear them all the time!”

“I can tell.” Kibum said. Taemin scoffed.

“In any case, your highness,“ Kibum smiled sweetly towards Jinki, who peered up at him through his glasses, “would you mind accompanying me to the dressing room? I’d appreciate your opinion on my choices.” Taemin rolled his eyes at Kibum’s blatant double personality.

“Right. Taemin, please make yourself comfortable. We’ll be back in a few minutes.” Jinki patted his nephew’s shoulder, and followed Kibum out of the salon.

As they were heading out, Kibum suddenly turned to face Minho. “You wouldn’t mind coming with us, right? You know him best, so you’d know what he’d like better than we would.”

Minho’s eyes darted between Kibum and his friend. “Uh, yeah, sure.” Minho said, clearing his throat and briskly making his way out of the room.

Taemin stared at his own reflection, flaring his nostrils. As much as he hated to admit it, he did look pretty stupid. Just then, a flicker of movement made his eyes jump towards Jonghyun’s reflection. His future instructor had just pulled out a small notepad, and was writing something down. Taemin took this as an opportunity to study the man’s features in a way that wasn’t face-to-face and therefore, less awkward (for himself, at least).

Jonghyun had raven hair and bronze skin, full, almost pouty lips, protruding cheekbones, and a sharp jaw. His gaze traveling down, Taemin saw that his button-up shirt was just the slightest bit too small, so the fabric hugged the muscles on his chest and arms. _He’s not bad looking,_ Taemin thought, _I’d give him a 6 out of 10._ Just then, as if Jonghyun could read his thoughts, he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows. Taemin let out a quiet gasp. Everyone knows that when a man rolls his sleeves up to his elbows, it makes him an automatic 10. Forearm muscles are one of the most powerful things in the world. Figuratively.

Hearing Taemin’s gasp, Jonghyun lifted his head and made eye contact with Taemin in the mirror. _Oh shit_ , thought Taemin, _oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit._ _I’m too socially awkward for this_. He turned his chair around to properly face Jonghyun, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“What are you writing?” Taemin said. _Okay, not the best opener for a conversation, but I can live with that._

“Just some lyrics, your highness.” Jonghyun replied.

“You’re a lyricist?”

“I compose in my free time, sir.” Jonghyun replied with a soft smile, focusing on his notepad again. Feeling awkward in the silence, Taemin decided to ask something else.

“How old are you?” Taemin said.

“I’m 24, sir.”

“So you’re 6 years older than me? Feel free to talk to me comfortably, then.”

Jonghyun faced Taemin again, slightly surprised. “I can’t, sir. It would be unwise for the public to overhear a commoner speaking to a royal as if they are on the same level.”

“Well, then-”

Taemin was interrupted by Kibum grandly entering the room as if it were a runway instead of a beauty salon. Jinki and Minho followed behind, carrying a few clothes and boxes.

“I swear to god, I am a genius. Now, let’s see if your lovely locks are finished yet…”

* * *

Taemin pulled his hair to the front of his face, pouting at it as he and Minho made their way home.

“I hate black hair. It’s so boring.”

“Well, Kibum was right. You do look more professional now, and it’s not flying in every direction for once.”

“I don’t care.” Taemin complained. It was totally not fair that his uncle forced him to change his hair color, even if it made him look more mature. “Anyways, Jinki said that Jonghyun-hyung is going to drive us to and from school starting tomorrow in one of their limousines. So, after school, if you wouldn’t mind, you could ride with us back to my uncle’s place for the beginning of my ‘royal lessons’.”

Minho furrowed his brows at Taemin. “Uh, Taemin-ah, you do realize I have soccer practice tomorrow, right? And the day after that, and the day after that…”

Shit. Taemin hadn’t even thought about Minho’s practices. He was too caught up in, you know, suddenly finding out he had to run a country.

“Oh. Right. Sorry, I forgot. I’ll just go by myself.”

Minho smiled and wrapped his arm around Taemin’s shoulders. “Thanks, dude. I’ll see you tomorrow, kay?”

“Kay.” Taemin waved, smile fading as Minho jogged down his street. He still wasn’t terribly confident going to Jinki’s house by himself, and the fact that he had “royalty lessons” starting tomorrow did nothing to help his nerves. He could barely even remember how to do long division, how was he supposed to learn everything about some stupid country? Groaning out loud, he sulked back home, ready to take out his frustrations on some random video game character.

* * *

“Bye, mom.” Taemin called as he walked through the front door. He stopped right in his tracks as he faced a long, black limousine parked in front of his house. _Oh right,_ Taemin remembered after a moment, _chauffeur._

Jonghyun emerged from the driver’s seat of the car and stood in front of the back door on the passengers side, opening it so Taemin could slip inside.

“You really don’t have to open the door for me…” Taemin said.

“Please step inside, your highness.” Jonghyun replied, gesturing towards the interior of the car.

Taemin sighed and slid onto the leather seats. There really wouldn’t be any reasoning with this guy, would there?

As Jonghyun drove down the street towards Minho’s house, Taemin took a moment to explore the interior of the limo. There was a sizable space between the back seats and the front seats, and inside that space was maroon counter and cup holders on the sides. Underneath the counter was an empty cupboard, and above Taemin’s head were a few small buttons. After fussing with them, he discovered that the first one rolled down the window, the second raised a black wall between the back and front seats, and the third made the ceiling light up in different colors.

“What is this, the cash cab?” Taemin wondered aloud. Jonghyun let out a small snort, but quickly regained his composure. Taemin found himself oddly happy he had made Jonghyun laugh. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation.

The limo halted to a stop and Minho burst inside before Jonghyun even had a chance to open the door for him.

“Wooaahh,” Minho mused, as he pushed the same buttons Taemin had been inspecting. “This is so cool! I told you being royal was gonna be awesome!”

“Yeah, well, you don’t have to take royalty lessons today like I do.” Taemin mumbled.

“I’m really sorry I can’t make it to your uncle’s today, but I don’t want to miss any more practices with semi-finals coming up.” Minho patted Taemin’s knee as he moped.

“It’s fine, Minho.” he replied. “But that doesn’t make me any less nervous…”

“Sorry, man” Minho frowned sympathetically. As he turned his head, his gaze was suddenly focused on the windshield.

“What’s going on out there?” Minho wondered, as he looked out towards the school. It was surrounded by news vans, reporters, and students either talking to the newscasters or struggling to get inside the school. Without waiting for an answer from Taemin, he opened the door and briskly walked forwards to see what the commotion was about.

“Hyung, wait!” Taemin called after him, adding a quick, “thanks for the ride, Jonghyun-hyung,” before following after his friend.

They stood in front of the building in bewilderment. What could’ve possibly happened that made all these people show up at their school? It’s not like high schoolers had anything of importance to say. Something bad must’ve happened…

Just then, a younger student Minho recognized from his fan club pointed at the two of them. “That’s him!” she said. “That’s prince Taemin!”


	4. JUST KIDDING, THAT’S ACTUALLY NOT CHILL AT ALL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: panic attacks

“That’s him!” she said. “That’s prince Taemin!”

Taemin froze in his tracks as all eyes turned to him. The crowds of reporters and newscasters didn’t even pause to think before running towards him, microphones and notepads outstretched.

“Prince Taemin, talk to us!”

“Who does your hair?”

“What are your plans after taking the throne?”

“Who’s your favorite actor?”

As Taemin tried to run back towards the limousine, his path was blocked by more people asking him the same pointless questions. Everyone was pushing against each other, trying to hold their microphones up to Taemin’s mouth or focusing their cameras on his face. Countless flashes went off as people photographed him, causing the faces around him to become blurry and distorted. They were ramming into his shoulders, his legs, his chest, forcing him around like he was a toy some toddlers were fighting over. He tried to squeeze his way out of the commotion, but they just shoved against him harder. Suddenly he realized he couldn’t breathe, the suffocation of people around him making him feel like he was drowning. He shut his eyes, trying to will the feeling to disappear.

Without warning, a pair of muscular arms were around him, forcing his legs into action as they dragged him across the pavement. He could feel himself trembling, each step requiring more effort than the last. He couldn’t tell if he had opened his eyes or not, because his mind was simply not registering it. All he knew was that he needed to run.

There was a click, and the body around him pushed him down, and he landed on soft leather.

“Your highness, are you okay?” someone asked, the arms leaving his body and instead grasping his head.

Finally, Taemin regained sight, and he found himself face-to-face with a wide eyed Jonghyun.

Taemin attempted to say “I’m fine,” but his mouth just let out strange, choked noises.

“Oh my god, I don’t know what to do.” Jonghyun said as he pressed his palms to his eyes. There were still people shouting outside, trying to capture Taemin on film, before Jonghyun pressed a button on the dashboard and dark coverings on the windows shielded them from the eyes of the people outside.

“Breathe with me please, your highness.” Jonghyun said, followed by a deep inhale. Taemin followed his slow breathing pattern until he felt his heart rate decrease.

“Are you okay?” Jonghyun asked again.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.” Taemin said, voice barely above a whisper.

“Oh, thank god.” Jonghyun exhaled, slumping back into his seat. He ran his hand through his hair absentmindedly as he thought to himself.

“King Jinki.” he said after a moment. “We should tell him what’s happened.”

Taemin nodded as Jonghyun pulled his cell phone out, quickly contacting Jinki’s mansion.

“Yes, Kibum? Something really bad just happened…”

* * *

“Your highness? We’ve found her.”

“Send her in, please.” Jinki replied. He was sitting at the principal’s desk inside Taemin’s high school. After Jonghyun had relayed the story to him, he rushed over with a few bodyguards to lead Taemin inside the school. His principal graciously gave up her dingy office so the three men could speak in private about what had transcended outside.

The bodyguard stepped out of the way to reveal a short girl with long brown hair; the same girl who had pointed Taemin out earlier that morning.

Jinki gave her a warm smile. “Hello, Miss. Please have a seat.” he said, gesturing to the only empty chair. The other two were taken by Jonghyun and Taemin, who was curled into himself and shaking slightly.

The girl instead grimaced and played with the ends of her hair. “Where’s Minho oppa? I’m not talking unless he’s here.”

All three men were taken back by her rude statement. Who talks to a king like that?!

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll just message him myself.” she said, pulling out her phone and typing a quick message. Once she was done, she flipped her hair and sat down, crossing her legs.

A few seconds later, Minho was forcing the door open. “For fuck’s sake, Han-na…”

Han-na turned around and flashed a smile at the sound of Minho’s voice. “Oppa! You’re here!”

“You two know each other?” Jinki questioned, eyebrows quirked.

“She’s a member of my fanclub and she’s a fucking stalker.” Minho growled and leaned against the wall.

“That’s no way to talk to your girlfriend, oppa.” She pouted.

The door was slammed open yet again as Taemin’s mother rushed inside, kneeling down in front of her son and cradling his face.

“Taemin-ah, are you okay? Did they hurt you? Oh, my poor baby…” Taemin blushed a deep red as his mom doted on him, gently trying to push her away from his face.

The mother-son love session was interrupted by Jinki clearing his throat. “Please, Ms. Han-na,” he said, turning his gaze to the girl in question, “I would just like to know how you came by this information.”

“Well,” she started, sitting up straight, “I was following my Minho oppa after school the other day, not because I’m a stalker,” she glared at Minho as she said this, “but because I wanted to make sure he got home safely like a good girlfriend. But he didn’t go to his house, he went to some rich person’s place. As I was leaving, I heard his voice through a stone fence. I listened in, and there was a bunch of guys talking about Taemin starting royal lessons. So I went home and called the news station.”

“Why the hell would you do that?!” Minho demanded from his place on the wall.

“Well, think about it. If people find out I’m dating the prince’s best friend, I’ll get publicity. Then it wouldn’t be hard to get into a gymnastics agency, what with my good looks and natural talent.”

“I’m not even dating you! I would never date you!” Minho exploded.

“Minho, please calm down.” Jinki interjected. Minho sighed and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose. “That will be all for now, Miss Han-na,” Jinki continued. She turned her nose up and huffed out of the room.

Jinki leaned back in his chair, his easy smile quickly falling after she had left. “Well, I guess you can’t really go to school anymore.”

That particular statement caught the attention of Ms. Lee, and she turned around to eye Jinki. “What makes you say that?”

“There’s undoubtedly going to be reporters every day waiting for him, and even if they’re gone the students won’t leave him alone. But it’s not a big deal; he doesn’t need to finish high school, really.”

“Doesn’t need to finish high school?” Ms. Lee stood up. “I’m not pulling my son out of school when he’s this close to graduation!”

The king’s eyes went wide. “Oh, right. Of course. Sorry, Ms. Lee.”

“The reporters are surrounding our house, too. How is my son supposed to go anywhere without being bombarded again?” She gave a stern look and crossed her arms.

“Ah, see, I actually had an idea about that! Why doesn’t Taemin come live with me?”

“What?” Taemin interjected.

“Honestly, I was thinking about it for awhile, because it’d be much easier to keep an eye on you that way, but now that you’ve been found out you’ll have more protection and-”

“Uncle Jinki,” Taemin interrupted. “You seriously want me to move in with you?”

“You and your mom, yes.” Jinki said, gesturing towards them.

Taemin gave a worried look to his mom, who was contemplating the idea. “I just don’t want you getting hurt again, sweetie…”

He threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. “Fine, whatever. Do whatever you want. It’s not like you’ve given me a choice about anything else, why would you start now?” He pointedly looked at each person in the room, until his eyes met Jonghyun’s. Although Jonghyun was composed on the outside, there was an underlying layer of fear behind his eyes. Taemin hadn’t really thought about it until just now, but Jonghyun was probably just as scared as he was. Jonghyun had to push through the crowd to get to him, unsure of whether he was okay or not, Jonghyun had to drag him as they ran back to the limo, and Jonghyun was the one that helped Taemin calm down from his panic attack. His fist unclenched as he turned back towards his uncle, voice sounding calmer than before. “Sorry. I know you all just want to protect me. I’d be fine living with you.”

* * *

“Is this a condom wrapper?!” Kibum exclaimed, holding up a thin square. He was at Taemin’s house, as were a few other employees from the mansion, helping clean out the necessary things so they could move into the mansion.

Taemin stood up from where he was putting his video games into a box with Minho, who had skipped school. “It’s a goddamn lollipop wrapper, fucknut.” he said after inspecting it.

Kibum tossed the wrapper to the side. “Whatever. I found it beneath the couch cushions, so I figured you must have banged someone.”

Taemin sent him a glare. “Or, you know, I was eating a lollipop while watching TV.” He returned to his video games. “Why are you even going through our couch cushions? We’re not moving it, so do something helpful for once.”

Kibum did a mock curtsy. “Yes, your highness.” He smirked and sauntered away.

“Ugh, he seriously pisses me off.” Taemin said, piling the last of the cases inside the cardboard box.

“Really? I think he’s kinda funny.” Minho replied as he grabbed the duct tape. Taemin sent him a _are-you-fucking-kidding-me_ look before they both lifted the box from the ground and headed towards the moving man outside.

Once outdoors, they met Taemin’s mom, who was holding a checklist and making sure everything they needed was loaded into the truck. She slumped when she saw Minho and Taemin carrying the large box of video games.

“Taemin, I told you to only pack the essentials. We’re not gonna live there forever, you know…” she scolded.

“These are essential, mom. You know how bored I get on the weekends.” he said, grunting as they lowered the box into the back of the van.

“You _should_ be spending your free time studying…” she grumbled, turning her eyes back to the checklist.

Not long after, the rest of the workers had loaded everything they needed into the moving van, and then drove back to the mansion afterwards. Taemin still had two suitcases that held things like pajamas and toothpaste, so he wouldn’t have to search for them inside the vans. Honestly, he didn’t even want to unpack when he got there; he just wanted to lay down and sleep. It was late, he was tired, and he could take care of it tomorrow. There was still a limo outside, presumably Jonghyun’s, to take him back to Jinki’s. His mother opted to drive her own car, leaving Taemin and Minho the only ones at the house.

“Are you coming to help unpack?” Taemin questioned.

Minho looked at his phone. “Actually, I have just enough time to help at my father’s shop. I should probably do that instead of carrying more boxes.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yup. See ya!” He called, running backwards towards his own house.

“I hope you realize you’re a piece of shit!!” Taemin yelled after him.

“Thanks!” a distant voice replied.

Taemin scoffed and picked up his suitcases, heading towards the trunk of the limousine. He couldn’t figure out how to open the damn thing, but luckily Jonghyun exited the the front seat and stood beside him.

“Allow me, your majesty.” Jonghyun said, pulling the trunk open with ease. They both put one suitcase inside, and then entered the vehicle on their respective sides.

Jonghyun had hardly been driving for 15 seconds when Taemin spoke up from the back seat. “Hey hyung?”

“Yes, your highness?”

“Can’t you just call me Taemin?”

“As I had explained earlier, your highness, I-” Jonghyun was cut off by Taemin suddenly peeking his head over the short wall separating the back seats from the front.

“Y-your highness!” Jonghyun sputtered, “please sit back down and put your seatbelt on!”

Taemin made a humming noise, as if he was contemplating something. “Okay, if you say so.” He dived head first into the passenger’s chair after thrusting himself up from the back seats. Jonghyun’s eyes were rapidly going back and forth from the road to Taemin.

After kneeing the dashboard and nearly kicking Jonghyun in the face, Taemin was finally situated correctly in the front seat and put his seatbelt on. “See? I’m all safe now.”

“Your majesty, I beg of you-”

“Hyung, say it with me. Tae…” Jonghyun didn’t respond, only kept his eyes focused and the road.

Taemin lightly poked his shoulder. “Hyung, please. I’m tired as fuck and the late night crazies are getting to me. Just say it. Tae…”

“Tae.”

“Min.”

“Min.”

“Now put it together.”

Jonghyun sighed. “Taemin, you almost killed both of us.” he said, a smile playing on the edges of his mouth.

* * *

The workers were bustling inside Jinki’s house, carrying boxes and being directed by Ms. Lee where each one should go. Jonghyun and Taemin were standing at the front door each holding a suitcase and staring wide-eyed at the crowd of people, unsure of how to get through them. Just then, Taemin locked eyes with Kibum, who was calmly sitting at his desk.

“Yah!” Kibum shouted, getting the attention of everyone in the room. “Prince Taemin’s here, let him through to the hallway.” The crowd slowly parted, creating a path for him to walk through.  He would’ve thanked Kibum, but…nah.

Jonghyun and Taemin went through the crowd into the hallway, Jonghyun having to keep a quicker pace because of his shorter stature.

“His majesty said you’ll be staying in the East Suite, so please follow me.” Jonghyun said, leading Taemin towards his new room.

They walked through one seafoam-colored sitting room before making it to a narrow hallway, stopping at a large, mahogany door. Jonghyun turned the golden handle to reveal a king sized bed, with deep red blankets and a million different pillows. The walls were the same deep red, but with ornate, golden spirals curling up from the floor to the ceiling. The floor was a polished dark wood, and there were two doors on the leftmost wall; one for the bathroom, the other for the closet.

Taemin’s mouth dropped in awe. He had never seen a room so extravagant his whole life, and now it was his to live in. So of course, because he’s a very mature adult, he did the first thing that came to mind: jumped head first into the mountain of pillows on his bed.

“This. Is. AWESOME!” He screamed, voice muffled from the fabric surrounding his face. A giggle made him turn his head towards the doorway.

Jonghyun’s face was red from trying to hold back his laughter. “Sorry, your m- Taemin. I didn’t mean to laugh at you.”

Taemin sat up on the edge of his bed, facing Jonghyun. “It’s fine, hyung. I’m not going to send you to the palace dungeon for laughing at me.”

“We do actually have one back at Aellyn. I’ll have to show you once we return.”

“Uh, yeah, about that, hyung-” Taemin said as he stood up from his bed, sentence being cut off by him slipping on the floor. Apparently, he had miscalculated the slipperiness of it, and his feet fell out from under him, sending him toppling backwards as he struggled to grab hold of anything to keep him from falling.

A split second after he had landed on his back, something else landed on top of him that was a lot less comfortable than his bed. Groaning, he lifted his head up to see what was on top of him, only to meet dark brown eyes staring at his own.

“Your highness, are you alright?” it was Jonghyun’s voice.

Oh. Hey. Jonghyun was on top of him. That’s chill.

THAT’S NOT CHILL AT ALL. Taemin flushed the same deep red as the walls as he realized he must have grabbed Jonghyun and pulled him down as he was falling.

“Oh my god, hyung, I’m so fucking sorry-”

Jonghyun stood back up, his weight finally leaving Taemin’s body. It was harder to tell because of his darker skin tone, but he was blushing almost as much as Taemin. “If-if you’re alright, I’ll go, um, help with the boxes…” he said, all but sprinting from the room.

Taemin leaned back on the bed and groaned. _Well, that’s going in the cabinet for “embarrassing shit I’d gladly sell my left kidney to forget”._


	5. PAAAAARTAAAAYYY

Jinki was right about the reporters being everywhere. Each day, when Jonghyun dropped Taemin off at school, there was already a horde of newscasters waiting for him. Jinki had hired a few guards to walk Taemin into the school without being disturbed by the journalists, creating a sort of human barricade to prevent them from giving him another panic attack. Many of their vans would try and follow him to and from Jinki’s house, so the guards had to surround Taemin’s limousine with their own cars every time he was out on the road.

Not that inside the school was any better. Half of the students, who had never cared about him before, were suddenly sucking up to him, hoping to get money or publicity or whatever the fuck they wanted. The other students despised him for no good reason, pushing him around in the hallway or knocking his books from his hands. He usually just brushed them off, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t get on his nerves.

Living at Jinki’s mansion turned out to be way better than expected. In Taemin’s free time he would explore the inside of the house or the gardens, and he more or less knew where to find each room now. He had a room dedicated to his video games that Jinki’s workers had put together, complete with a movie theater sized television screen. His private bathroom had an acrylic tub with water jets, and each evening he ate supper prepared by professional chefs with his mother and uncle. Taemin now understood why Minho was so excited for him to be rich.

At the moment, his royalty lessons were essentially none at all. Jinki went over some simple table manners at dinner, and Jonghyun would go over the basics of public speaking for a half hour after school each day. He’d had Taemin standing at a podium in a sea-foam sitting room for the past four days, so when Jonghyun led him to a round room with marble floors, Taemin was somewhat relieved for the change.

Jonghyun fiddled with a speaker in the rightmost corner of the room as Taemin sat cross legged on a red, velvety chair, filling the room with an uncomfortable silence. They had hardly spoken after Taemin embarrassed himself to high hell a few days previous, besides casual pleasantries and official business. Taemin couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, because they had just started getting close…

Slow, rhythmic music filled the room and Jonghyun turned to face Taemin. “So,” he began, “public speaking is getting kind of dull, so I thought we’d take a break and do something fun today.” He grabbed Taemin’s hand and gently led him towards the center of the room. “Once you move to Aellyn, you’ll take part in quite a few parties. And, of course, one of the most important things you’ll do at a party is dance.” He slipped his arm around Taemin’s waist, which was a little awkward due to their height difference. They gradually began swaying to the music. “Ideally, you’ll be the one leading, but for the purpose of today’s lesson, I’ll take the lead for now.”

“Um, hyung…”

“Now, you may want to watch your feet movement for now, but in the future…”

“Hyung?”

“…you’re going to have to look at the person you are dancing with and-” Jonghyun was cut off by suddenly being twirled around and dipped towards the floor.

“I already know how to dance.”

Jonghyun stared back up at him with wide eyes, shocked by the sudden change in power. Taemin pulled him back upwards, gracefully taking the lead and gliding with Jonghyun across the floor. The instructor looked off to the side, somewhat embarrassed and blushing lightly. They both became increasingly aware of Taemin’s arm around his waist, of their fingers interlacing with each other’s, their bodies pressed together…

And then Taemin’s alarm clock went off. He took a moment to remember where he was before reaching over and turning it off. He stretched, groaning as his limbs popped, wondering why he even had a dream about dancing with Jonghyun because that’s weird as FUCK… whatever. Time for french toast.

* * *

“Please, uncle Jinki? It’ll just be this one lesson, I swear.”

Taemin was pleading at the dinner table with puppy dog eyes to go to his school’s senior party. It was the one school event he was actually looking forward to, even though he completely forgot about it until two days prior.

“It’s not the lesson I’m concerned about, it’s the other students…” Jinki replied, voice laced with concern. “I suppose I could send a few bodyguards with you…”

“Uncle Jinki, please don’t. I just want to go to a regular old party.” He knew that his classmates would bother him the entire time, but he wanted to feel like a normal teenager for one night. That, and the bodyguards would baby him the whole time. Adults suck ass.

Jinki pursed his lips in thought. “What if Kibum accompanied you?”

Taemin scoffed. “Uh, no offense, but what good would he be?”

“Lee Taemin, watch your mouth.” His mother scolded from across the table. He rolled his eyes.

“Well, I’d imagine he’s young enough for you not to feel awkward, and I trust him enough to keep you safe.” Jinki smiled. “Plus, he’s fun when he’s drunk.”

Taemin whined. “Isn’t there anyone else who could come with?”

“Sorry Tae, it’s either Kibum or five bodyguards.” He gave his nephew a sympathetic smile. “He’s really not that bad once you get to know him.”

Taemin sighed in defeat. “Fine, as long as he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Jinki nodded and called a waiter to his side, asking him to relay the news to Kibum. A few seconds after the waiter had left, the three of them heard a loud “PAAAARTAAAYYY” resounding from the hall. Taemin groaned and slumped in his chair, questioning his life choices.

* * *

Like the loyal chauffeur he is, Jonghyun drove the two friends (+ an overenthusiastic Kibum) to the beach for the celebration. It was about a half hour from Jinki’s place, and Kibum insisted on playing his music through the speakers at an ear-splitting level the entire drive there.

“ARE YOU READY TO FUCKING PARTY?!” Kibum shouted from the passenger side.

“No.” Taemin mumbled, crossing his arms.

“I COULDN’T HEAR YOU SO I’M TAKING THAT AS A YES!”

“OH MY FUCKING GOD, THIS ISN’T EVEN YOUR SCHOOL!”

Kibum just raised both his middle fingers up the air as a reply. At least Minho seemed to be enjoying himself, because he had been on his 2DS the entire trip. Every once in awhile he’d scream a curse out loud and make Taemin jump, before getting absorbed in his game once again. Jonghyun, on the other hand, was just as composed as always. Kibum turned his music down slightly and rubbed his cheek against Jonghyun’s shoulder.

“Hyuuung, why don’t you stay for the party? You know you waaant tooo~” He sing-songed. The plan was for Jonghyun to drop them off and pick them up when Kibum texted him, but Kibum wanted none of that. “It’s stupid to drive all the way to a party and then leave,” he insisted. “Stop acting like someone stuck a pole up your ass.”

“First of all, that sounds painful. Second of all, I’m simply acting as a chauffeur slash designated driver. I don’t really want to get in the way of these high schoolers and their ‘special night’.” Jonghyun replied.

“But what if Taemin needs extra protection, hm? What if the other kids harass him? Wouldn’t you want to stay for the show?”

“I CAN STILL HEAR YOU.” Kibum ignored Taemin in the back seat, instead staring at Jonghyun with puppy-dog eyes and pursed lips.

Jonghyun snorted at Kibum’s expression. “You look disgusting when you make that face.”

Kibum shot back, mouth hanging open in mock offense. “Is that any way to speak to your mother?!”

“You are such an idiot, Kibum-ssi.” Jonghyun chuckled. “Still not going.”

“I have ways of persuading you.” Kibum said, voice suddenly lower. A smirk spread across his face as he began plotting his methods of persuasion.

* * *

So apparently Kibum’s “persuasion” was getting Minho, Taemin, and himself to pull Jonghyun from his arms out of the car.

“RIP HIS SHOULDER BLADES OUT, BOYS!” He commanded as the three of them dragged Jonghyun onto the cement ground. Despite himself, Taemin found himself giggling as they all “tortured” Jonghyun. Kibum barking out orders like he was a squad sergeant instead of an idiot playing around with a bunch of other idiots was almost funny. Almost.

“Told you Kibum was fun.” Minho whispered to Taemin, all catching their breath after that relentless workout. Jonghyun brushed the dirt off his backside as he stood up.

“Come on hyung. Party central. They got alcohol. Swimming. Awkward teenagers struggling with hormones. Come on.” Kibum bounced in place as he waited for Jonghyun’s reply.

“You hurt my butt.”

“You can’t hurt what doesn’t exist. Come on.” Kibum beckoned with his hand.

Jonghyun chewed the inside of his mouth. “I’ll stay for five minutes.”

Kibum squealed like a schoolgirl. “Last one there is Taemin’s left sock!”

They all ran after Kibum, sand sinking in between their toes as they made it to the beach, when all four stopped to take in their surroundings. There were ten folding tables, each showcasing all sorts of snacks. To the left was a sort of playground, with tennis nets, soccer goals, and basketball hoops. But the main attraction was the large, wooden stage, complete with speakers and a band set. Currently, there were five blonde girls on stage singing with a large banner hanging behind them that read “Karaoke Contest!”

“Sooyoung really outdid herself, huh?” Minho said, nudging Taemin with his elbow. Taemin nodded, unconsciously swaying to the music.

“So are you just gonna stand there like a bunch of flaccid dicks are you gonna party?” Kibum interrupted, swinging both arms around Taemin and Minho’s shoulders and leading them towards the crowd of people. Immediately, a few kids turned to see who it was and scowled.

“Aw look, it’s the asshole who thinks he’s better than everyone else.” One kid murmured. A few others around him snickered behind their hands.

A body pushed right past Taemin, forcing him aside. He was about to yell at them, before realizing it was Kibum walking towards the group of students.

“Hi, do you know Taemin?” Kibum said sweetly, addressing the boy who called the young prince out.

“Huh? Yeah. I mean, of course I do.” The kid replied, eyes darting around in confusion.

“I’m Kibum. Nice to meet you.” He took his hand out and waited for the student to do the same, before wrenching the kid’s hand behind his back. He whispered lowly into the boy’s ear;

“I’m also in charge of taking care of him,” Kibum pointedly looked at Taemin, “for the night. Which means if you try and pull any shit, you’ll have to answer to me. Got that?” The kid gulped and furiously nodded his head, trembling slightly from the pain Kibum was inflicting on him.

Kibum released him and gave the other students a sickly smile. “Anyone else got anything to say about Taemin?” They all just stared back at him with wide eyes. He smirked. “I didn’t think so.”

* * *

“But hyuuung, I wanna go swimming~” Kibum whined at Jonghyun again, the Kibum who had threatened the other students was long gone and the needy diva Kibum was back in full force.

“My five minutes are already up. Besides, I don’t even have a swimsuit.” Jonghyun replied, struggling against the hand dragging him towards the shore. Taemin and Minho were following close behind, already changed into their t-shirts and trunks.

“Do I need to get Minho and Taemin to throw you into the water? You know I will.” Kibum said, still struggling to pull Jonghyun into the ocean.

“Right, cause we just automatically do whatever you ask.” Taemin snorted.

“Yeah, don’t bring the kids into your problems, Kibum-ssi.” Jonghyun said. Kibum gave one last pull, before letting go and frowning at Jonghyun.

“Fine,” Kibum sighed, “if you really want to go…”

“I really do.”

Kibum stretched his arms out. “Give me a hug first?” He asked, gross puppy-dog eyes full blown. Jonghyun rolled his eyes before wrapping his friend up in his arms. Before he even knew what was happening, Jonghyun’s checkered button-down was being forcibly pulled over his head.

“WHAT THE HELL, KIBUM?!” Jonghyun shouted at Kibum, who was knee deep in the water and waving Jonghyun’s shirt like a flag.

“If you want it, you gotta come get it!” Kibum taunted.

“Come on, I still have to go back to the estate!” Jonghyun whined, self-consciously covering his chest with his hands. Kibum just danced around in reply.

“Um, hyung? Would you like me to go get it for you?” Minho asked, pointing over his shoulder.

Jonghyun sighed. “You can try.” Minho splashed into the water, approaching Kibum. It didn’t take long for Minho to reach him and start tugging the shirt from his hands. However, Kibum’s stubborn and won’t give up that easily, and eventually turned it into a childish tug-of-war. One particularly strong pull from Minho’s end sent Kibum falling forward, screaming, but as Minho started to head back to shore, the elder grabbed him from behind and sent him tumbling into the water. Jonghyun stood there dumbfounded at their little water fight, his shirt forgotten as the waves began carrying it away. He didn’t even notice Taemin taking his own shirt off until it was nudging against his shoulder.

“Here, hyung, just borrow mine. I was gonna go swimming anyway.” Taemin said, refusing to meet Jonghyun’s eyes.

“Thank you, Taemin.” Jonghyun replied, graciously accepting Taemin’s shirt. It was a pretty tight fit, what with his huge arms and shaped pecs and beautiful abs, but it would have to do for now.

Once Taemin was submerged in the water he immediately sunk his head down, desperately trying to cool his burning face.

* * *

Jonghyun never got a chance to leave the party. Kibum kept coming up with different ways to make him stay, be it stealing his car keys or dragging him into a game. Minho whipped their asses almost every time, but it was still fun to play along. Although he would never admit it, he was actually glad Kibum forced him to stay.

That is, until the DJ started picking out random audience members to come sing on stage. Apparently there weren’t enough willing participants, so she took it upon herself to search the crowd using the spotlight, and whoever it landed on had to sing a song.

And, of course, the light landed on Jonghyun.

He tried to decline, but the students around him began pushing him forwards until he was already at the steps to the stage. It didn’t help that Kibum did nothing to stop them, instead just drunkenly yelling out “THAT’S MY FRIEND!! I KNOW HIM!!”

The petite girl stood next to him, her hair sticking out like a palm tree. “You know, someday you might thank me for this.” She said, turning back towards her equipment. Jonghyun could barely make out her mumbling “Or not,” as she fiddled with the buttons.

Jonghyun stood in front of the center microphone, eyeing the projector in front of him. His heart ever-so slightly rose out of the bottom of his stomach when he realized the song playing was actually one he knew. He took a deep breath and began quietly,

_Oh it feels like I’ve gone blind, oh my_

_It’s obvious I’ll be ruined by your beautiful trap_

_Don’t you know? Don’t you know?_

_Your laugh is dangerous_

_Don’t you know? Don’t you know?_

The crowd settled down a bit, began listening to the angelic voice pouring from the speakers. He smiled shyly, and sang a bit louder,

_“I told you so”_

_They tell me not to get close to you,_

_even your attractive eyes_

_“See, she targeted him again”_

_They say I’ll get hurt if I give her all my heart_

_The funny thing is, the pathetic thing is_

_Even when you’re being cunning_

_You’re so attractive, it’s so fatal_

By then, everyone was entranced by Jonghyun’s performance. Some people just stared on in awe, others chose to clap along. Each verse that went by, he got more and more passionate, until he was basically making out with the microphone. Each note was executed with such perfect pitch and emotion, it almost felt like the song belonged to him. Minho and Kibum were whooping and hollering during Jonghyun’s performance, the singer occasionally throwing them a shy smile in reply. Taemin, on the other hand, just silently stood there, eyes fixated on on the way Jonghyun furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, how his pelvis would sometimes roll towards the stand, how…wait, did he just wink? _Shit, that’s kinda hot._ Taemin thought, before furiously trying to rid that idea from his mind. _The alcohol must be doing weird shit to my brain…better drink some more…_


	6. A Blushing Baby Jonghyun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of Seho in this chapter!

Jonghyun finished his performance with a short bow and down the stairs with wobbly legs. After he had gotten off the stage, a bunch of drunk students tried giving him high-fives and 90% of them completely missed his hand. A few sober kids complimented him, some even tried flirting, but he politely thanked them and turned them down. He was a little more than frustrated to find that the table he had previously been sitting at had been taken by complete strangers and that Kibum, Taemin, and Minho were nowhere to be seen.

“I swear to god, can’t even wait one minute…” He mumbled under his breath, meandering through the crowd to find his ”friends”.

* * *

Underneath a nearby patio, Kibum played beer pong with some jocks as Minho watched with his head against a girl’s shoulder.

“Have I ever told you you’re my favorite cousin?” Minho said to the girl sitting beside him.

“Choi Minho, get off your lazy ass and get your own soju.” She replied.

“I didn’t even ask you to do anything!” He whined.

“You should know by now that I know everything.” She smirked and poked his forehead. “Get your own soju.”

Minho scrunched his nose and stood up to walk towards the closest refreshment table. He grabbed the first bottle he saw, not really caring at this point what kind he got, and turned back towards his cousin. As he approached, he realized she was talking to a short party-goer with their arm around a much taller, lankier person’s waist.

“And how’s your partner, Sooyoung?” The shorter one asked Minho’s cousin.

“They’re great, but they couldn’t make it to the party, unfortunately.” Sooyoung pouted. She turned her head and made eye contact with Minho, trying to signal him to walk away while he still can, but the short person saw this and smiled when he saw Minho standing there.

“Hi, Minho! Enjoying the party?” He asked.

“Yeah, it’s really great, Suho.” He clutched his soju bottle tighter than he needed to.

“I don’t think you two have met yet.” Suho said, tilting his head towards the man on his side. “This is Sehun, my boyfriend.”

“Do you have to be so proper? It’s a party.” Sehun rolled his eyes. Suho awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Uh, anyway, how’ve you been doing lately?” Suho asked.

_Dammit,_ Minho thought, _why does he have to be so fucking polite? It’s making it difficult for me to hate him._ “Um, great, yeah.” An idea flickered into his mind. “I actually came here with my boyfriend, too.”

Sooyoung gasped. “Choi Minho, why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend?!”

“I thought you knew everything.” Minho replied.

“Stop being a smartass and introduce him to us.” She shooed him away.

“Oh, right.” Minho walked away from the group and took a swig from his bottle. He can’t be sober and talk to them at the same time. Then he stopped and thought about what Sooyoung had just asked. He doesn’t have a boyfriend.

Shit.

Feeling the group’s eyes on his back, he continued walking, his mind racing. He’d have to find someone to pretend to be his boyfriend or they’ll find out he lied. Sooyoung would never let him live that down. There was only one person he knew who was hopefully drunk enough to play along with his idea…

Putting his arm around Kibum’s shoulder, who had been standing around a table watching kids play beer pong, Minho whispered into his ear, “Please pretend to be my boyfriend in front of my ex.”

“Ooh, devious, I like it.” Kibum replied in a voice that was way too loud to be considered a whisper, patting Minho’s chest as he led them back to the group of people.

“Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Kibum.” Minho gestured to the man under his arm. They all greeted him.

“Which one of you broke the hotties heart?” Kibum demanded. Minho froze as the other’s gaped at him. Finally, Suho spoke up in a quieter voice than usual,

“We broke up by mutual agreement, actually…” Minho took a swig of soju.

“Ah, whatever. Your loss.” Another swig. Sensing the awkward tension in the air, Sooyoung spoke up from her chair. “Can I get either of you some soju?” She inquired.

“No thank you, I’m Buddhist, actually.” Suho answered.

“I’ll take one.” Sehun spoke up.

“You can’t drink yet!” Suho scolded and nudged his side.

“Stop being such a fucking grandpa.”

“Wow, I can really sense the love between you two.” Kibum said. Minho took another swig.

“Oh hey, I think I heard my partner calling for me!” Sooyoung stood up from her chair and got the hell out of dodge.

Sehun turned and whispered into Suho’s ear, “I thought she said her partner couldn’t make it?”

The sound of hurried footsteps caused Minho and Kibum to turn around. Jonghyun was jogging towards them, scowling in anger. He stopped before them, resting his hands on his knees, panting out. Kibum grimaced a little, wondering how in the world anyone would think running was necessary at any time.

“Where the hell were you?!” Jonghyun breathed.

“We were here, duh.” Kibum scoffed.

“You couldn’t have waited for me to come back before running off?!” Jonghyun shouted, pointedly looking at the people in front of him. Then he stood up, alert, realizing there was someone missing in the crowd. “Where’s Taemin?” He asked.

“The prince?” Suho asked from the side.

“No, the pope.” Sehun answered.

Kibum rolled his eyes at them. “I don’t know, he’s probably fisting himself somewhere.”

“Ugh, thanks for the mental image, asshole.” Minho said, taking a swig of his drink.

“I’m gone, I’m leaving right now.” Sehun threw his hands up in the air, walking away from the group of oddballs. Suho followed after him, trying to grab his arm and reason with him.

Jonghyun rubbed the sweat off his forehead. “For god’s sake, Kibum, you were supposed to be watching him!”

“I’m supposed to do a lot of things.” Kibum joked. Jonghyun kept glaring at him, so the younger just waved his arm and said, “He said he wanted to dance, so he’s probably on the dance floor. Go find him if you want him so bad.”

“Ugh, don’t say it like that.” Jonghyun blushed, and took off towards the dance floor, leaving Minho and Kibum by themselves.

Minho turned and looked at the older man still under his arm. “Did you just call me a hottie?”

* * *

“Taemin!! Taemin, where are you?!” Jonghyun yelled into the crowd of dancers. He didn’t even know why he bothered shouting, it’s not like anyone could hear him over the thumping bass. But he tried anyway, all while pushing through the mass of people, trying to find that familiar mop of black hair.

As he approached the approximate center of the dance floor, he noticed there was a circle of students all standing around a clearing. Getting on his toes to try and see over their shoulders, he saw a pair of pale arms moving in the air. He hopped in the air to get a better view, and saw that the person dancing in the middle of the floor was none other than the prince.

“Taemin!” Jonghyun cried out as he pushed through the students in front of him. Taemin looked at him and laughed.

“Oh, hey hyung, what’s up?” Taemin asked, still smiling and moving to the rhythm. He ran his hand through his hair, then continued his dance, bringing his arms out wide and crossing his legs together, each movement perfectly reflecting the deep beat of the song.

Jonghyun swallowed and tried to look at anything besides Taemin’s swaying hips. “Um, it’s just, I was looking for you…”

“Really?” Taemin asked, a playful tone to his voice.

“Taemin, how much have you drank?” Jonghyun said, suddenly very aware of all the eyes on the prince right now. If he did something stupid, the students would take notice and possibly contact the news again.

“Don’t be such a prude!” Taemin laughed. He walked over with unsteady legs, and Jonghyun wondered how he could keep his balance while dancing when he could barely walk straight. “You should dance with me!” Taemin put his hands around Jonghyun’s broad shoulders and attempted to pull him closer, but Jonghyun grabbed Taemin’s wrist and pulled him back.

“Taemin, you reek of alcohol.” He said, voice barely above a whisper.

“What’s your point?” Taemin tried pulling Jonghyun closer again. “Come on, let’s have fun.”

Jonghyun turned an even deeper shade of red than he already was. “I-I think we’d better go home.”

Taemin gasped and whacked his shoulder. “Jonghyun, you pervert! You should at least buy me dinner first!”

Now Jonghyun looked like a tomato. “I didn’t mean it like…” He looked to the side and bit his lip. “Let’s just go.” He grabbed Taemin’s hand and led him through the crowd.

“But hyung, I still wanted to dance some more!” Taemin pouted, but did nothing to resist the man pulling him forwards. Everyone they passed turned and stared at the display before them, but Jonghyun couldn’t care less at this point. Taemin was a mess and needed to be somewhere safe.

Taemin was still whining by the time they made it to the limo, but Jonghyun ignored him and instead gently lead him into the back seat.

“Stay here, okay? Don’t go running off and make sure you lock the doors once I’m gone.” Jonghyun looked for a sign of understanding in Taemin’s clouded eyes but found none. He sighed and lightly brushed Taemin’s hair to get his attention, resting his hand on Taemin’s cheek, . “Taemin, look at me. I’m going to go find Minho and Kibum and then be right back. Stay. Safe.” He tried to communicate his seriousness through his eyes and got a light nod from the younger in response. Jonghyun mumbled an “okay” and pet the top of Taemin’s head before leaving the car to find his asshole friend.

* * *

Jonghyun had been searching for over 15 minutes before he got the idea to look in the bathroom. It was the most likely place for them to be, probably pissing or hacking their guts out. What he didn’t expect to find was some couple making out against the tiled walls.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” He blushed and slammed the door, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest. It’s always the most awkward thing when you walk into a couple’s intimate time together, even if it was in a place they had no business being intimate in. He blushed even harder when he realized he could still hear them moaning and their lips smacking through the metal door.

A voice behind the door whimpered. “Kibum…” Wait, what? Did Jonghyun hear that name right? He opened the door a smidge and peered inside. Ah yes, that was definitely the asshole he was looking for. But who was he…

“ALRIGHT, BREAK IT UP!” Jonghyun yelled, forcibly separating Minho and Kibum from each other with his forearms. He turned and looked at his friend’s red and swollen lips before smacking him upside the head.

“Yah, what the hell was that for!” Kibum glared and rubbed the back of his head.

“For being a goddamn whore, that’s why!” Jonghyun pushed the two by their backs towards the door and led them outside. “We’re going home, now!” He continued pushing them forwards, making sure they kept enough distance between them, all while listening to Kibum bitch and Minho just blabber confusedly. He really should get a medal for putting up with this bullshit-ery.

And to top it all off, there was a pile of Taemin’s bile outside of the car. Great. Perfect. At least he had the sense to do it on the pavement instead of the interior of the limo.

The ride home was full of drunken shouting and yelling, but at least they made it home in one piece. The next day, Jonghyun will definitely request for a medal from King Jinki. But for now, he’ll just let the workers deal with the intoxicated kids while he lays on his bed. He thinks he may actually get a few hours of sleep that night.


	7. Taemin's Pouty and Jonghyun's Thirsty

Taemin woke up the next morning to his head pounding.

 

He groaned and sat up, slowly massaging his temples. Grimacing in pain, he tried to remember when and how he had gotten home last night. He remembers playing soccer on the beach, going swimming, drinking a lot of soju...after that it was all fuzzy. Kicking his bed sheets off and grabbing a robe to cover his bare chest, he walked out his bedroom door to the kitchen to look for some painkillers.

 

When Taemin arrived at the kitchen, he found Jonghyun rummaging through the cupboards, looking for a mug. Upon hearing Taemin entering the room, he turned his head and gave the prince a soft smile.

 

“Good morning, Taemin.” He greeted, before returning his attention to the cupboard.

 

Taemin self-consciously pulled the front of robe tighter. “Hi, hyung.” His voice came out thick and hoarse. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Do you know where I can find some pain meds?”

 

Jonghyun pointed over his shoulder. “Top drawer, right of the dishwasher.” Taemin bowed in appreciation and opened the drawer, finding the bottle before dropping two pills into his hand. Jonghyun had successfully found a mug and poured himself a cup of coffee, leaning against the countertop as he sipped.

 

Taemin stood next to him, also searching for a mug. “You feeling okay?” Jonghyun asked.

 

Taemin turned the mug around in his hand. “I have a headache.” He poured the coffee into his cup and turned around to search through another cabinet.

 

“Well, that’s to be expected, what with how much you drank last night.” Jonghyun sipped. Taemin pulled some creamer out and poured it into his coffee. Jonghyun grimaced as Taemin nearly emptied the entire case into his cup.

 

“I honestly don’t remember anything.” Taemin took a sip of his coffee and scowled, turning around to find the sugar.

 

Jonghyun stared down at his black coffee, deep in thought. Once Taemin had decided his drink was sweet enough, he put the pills in his mouth and washed them down with the coffee.

 

Jonghyun looked Taemin over, taking in his scruffy hair, his red-rimmed eyes, his mouth pressed into a tight line. He felt kinda bad for the prince, even though it was his choice to get so drunk last night…

 

“So for lessons today…” Jonghyun started, noticing how Taemin’s frown deepened as he mentioned the subject.

 

“Maybe...um…” He glanced over at Taemin before biting his lip. “You know, the only times I’ve been to Seoul was for work.” Taemin’s head shot up, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

 

“So um...maybe, instead of lessons, you could show me around? There’s no better way to experience a city than through the eyes of a native?”

 

Taemin’s lips curled up. “I’d like that.”

* * *

 

“Shit.” Taemin grumbled as he dropped the toy gun.

 

“FINALLY! I mean, uh, better luck next time.” Jonghyun picked up the gun and put both his and Taemin’s back into the slot. They had been playing a shooting game at an arcade for the past half hour and Jonghyun hadn’t won a single round.

 

“I let you win because I’m fucking tired of you yelling ‘shoot!’ every five seconds.” Taemin lied. Jonghyun flashed a smirk. Fine, so Taemin lost. He can’t be perfect at  _ everything. _

 

“So, what do you wanna do next?” Jonghyun asked, searching through the arcade for something interesting. “Skeeball? Whack-a-mole? The arm-wrestling games you know are rigged but you try anyway?”

 

Taemin scanned alongside him, eyes bulging out when he caught sight of two girls leaving his favorite game. “Pump it Up is open!” He gasped and began to pull on Jonghyun’s arm. “Come on, hyung, we have to play!”

 

“Okay, Taemin-ah, chill!” He said, grinning as Taemin dragged him along like a child.

 

They each stood on the dance platforms, Taemin excitedly searching through the songs and Jonghyun watching him with an amused smile. Stopping about halfway through the list, Taemin picked the song and got in position.

 

“This one’s fun, trust me.” He smirked as dubstep poured in through the speakers. Jonghyun stood with his mouth agape. They were only two seconds into the song and the arrows were already moving faster than he could keep up with.

 

At first, Jonghyun attempted to match his steps with the screen, but eventually he just ended up stepping on the buttons randomly. Taemin, however, didn’t seem to have any problem keeping up. In fact, Jonghyun noticed he would sometimes spin around or push himself off the railing, just for show.

 

As the song’s ending rang in his ears, Jonghyun turned to Taemin, panting, “You did that on purpose.”

 

“Did what?” Taemin was barely breaking a sweat.

 

“Picking the hardest song on my first try!” Jonghyun clutched the front of his shirt as he breathed out. “That was a dick move.”

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Taemin replied, focusing on the selection screen again. 

 

Jonghyun crossed his arms. “You can play by yourself, but I am NOT taking part in that again.” He left the platforms and leaned against the nearest console. “I’ll just watch from here.”

 

Taemin pouted at him. “I’m not gonna let you just stand there and watch me, it’s too weird.”

 

“What?” Jonghyun asked, incredulous. “But you just danced in front of everyone else here!”

 

“Yeah, but I don’t know them.”

 

“It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve seen you dance, what’s the problem?”

 

Taemin furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean? I’ve never danced for you.”

 

“You don’t remember?” Jonghyun said, slightly taken aback. “But the party last night…”

 

“The party? Hyung, I was drunk beyond belief, and…” The color pink started creeping up Taemin’s face. “Are you saying...I danced at the party yesterday?”

 

“Um...yes?” Jonghyun’s eyes darted around, not sure what Taemin was suddenly flustered about.

 

“Ooh no no no!” Taemin stepped off the platform and stood in front of Jonghyun. “Did people see?”

 

“Well I mean there was a crowd surrounding you, so I’m assuming yes.” He leaned back slightly as Taemin was crossing personal space boundaries by now.

 

“They all saw me?!” Taemin grunted out and hid his face behind his hands. “But I was drunk, and it’d be one thing if they saw me sober, but to think they saw me all wobbly and uncoordinated and tipsy…”

 

“You weren’t wobbly at all! In fact, when you tried to dance with me…”

 

“I TRIED TO DANCE WITH YOU?!” Taemin now crouched to the ground as if hiding within himself.  _ Shit, _ Jonghyun thought,  _ probably shouldn’t have mentioned that… _

 

“Oh my god I am so sorry I’m so fucking embarrassed…” Taemin rambled off, voice muffled from behind his hands.

 

Jonghyun crouched down so they were on the same level, not caring what looks were thrown at them from the other arcade-goers. “You have no reason to be sorry or embarrassed. I’ll admit, I was a bit shocked when you grabbed my shoulders and asked to dance, but...I mean, it wasn’t...unpleasant…”

 

Taemin peered up from behind his hand. It was Jonghyun’s turn to blush now. “I mean, it’s not everyday you get to dance with a prince, right?” He chuckled scratched the back of his head. Taemin was no longer hiding, but instead resting his head on top of his knees.

 

“And for what it’s worth, I’d really like to see you dance again.” Jonghyun bit his lip and looked to the side as his cheeks burned.

 

Taemin snorted. “Yeah right, like that’ll ever happen.”

* * *

 

The prince and his tutor sat at the far end of a quiet cafe. Despite getting along so well at the arcade, they suddenly felt extremely awkward sitting across the table from each other. Not willing to look into the others eyes, they both looked to the side as they waited for their orders, Taemin twiddling his thumbs and Jonghyun biting his lower lip.

 

A waitress with approached them carrying a plate. “Here is your espresso,” she laid it down in front of Jonghyun, “and here’s your banana milkshake and strawberry pie.” She placed them in front of Taemin.

 

“Thank you.” Jonghyun said, flashing a bright smile. She gave a polite nod and left. Seeing Jonghyun smile at her irked Taemin for some reason. He blamed it on hunger and pursed his lips around the straw, taking a sip of his milkshake and immediately brightening up.

 

Jonghyun eyed the sweets Taemin had ordered. “So, uh, I noticed you have quite the sweet tooth.” He said.

 

Taemin stopped sipping. “Um, yeah, I guess.”

 

_ That’s kinda cute, _ Jonghyun thought, smiling bashfully. He drank from his cup and decided to keep the conversation rolling while he’s ahead.

 

“So, how did you meet Minho?” He asked.

 

“We met in middle school.” Taemin replied, still not meeting the other’s eyes. “What about you and Kibum-hyung?”

 

“Well, we both work for King Jinki.”

 

Taemin blushed. “Oh. Right. It’s just, you seem close.”

 

Jonghyun crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back. “He’s an asshole, and a complete dickwad sometimes, but he’s fun to be around. But honestly, I wouldn’t consider him my best friend by any means.”

 

“Then who is your best friend?” Taemin asked as he swirled his straw around in his shake.

 

Jonghyun’s smile widened. “Jieun. She lives back at Aellyn. We write music together.” 

 

Taemin was tempted to ask if she was his girlfriend, but quickly decided against it because it seemed rude. Plus, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. “So uh, I just realized you’ve seen me dance, but I’ve never heard your music.”

 

“You heard me sing at the senior party!”

 

“But you didn’t write that song.”

 

Jonghyun pursed his lips. “All in good time, Taemin-ah.”

 

Taemin scrunched his nose in reply and removed a section of his strawberry cake off with his fork. As he popped the cake into his mouth, a bit of frosting stuck to his upper lip. Jonghyun felt the sudden urge to lick the frosting off himself before Taemin ran his tongue across his lip. Wait, that was weird. He shouldn’t be thinking those things about his pupil. Or...his friend, maybe?

 

“Sorry I don’t know a lot of cool places to take you. I don’t really go out much.” Taemin apologized.

 

Jonghyun let out a shaky laugh. somewhat unsettled by his previous thoughts. “No, it’s fine. I’m having fun.”

 

Taemin looked up from his cake and met eyes with Jonghyun, giving a shy smile. They stared at each other for a moment before Taemin interrupted. “You know, you could always meet my baby.”

 

Jonghyun’s jaw went slack and he raised his eyebrows. “Your what?!”

* * *

 

“So your baby is...a dance studio?” Jonghyun asked as he and Taemin stood in front of the building in question.

 

“Yes. I gave birth to it myself.” Taemin smiled and Jonghyun raised an eyebrow at him. Ignoring the look, Taemin grabbed Jonghyun’s sleeve and starting pulling him inside. “Come on, let’s go!” Jonghyun couldn’t help but laugh at Taemin’s excitement, letting the prince lead him into the building. Taemin gave quick wave to a person sitting in the lobby before approaching a narrow hallway, turning towards the first door on the right.

 

“Taemin, you stretched my sleeve out!” Jonghyun pouted. Taemin paused with his hand on the door handle as he caught a quick look of Jonghyun’s bare shoulder before he put his sleeve back into place. Flushing a soft pink, Taemin turned the door handle and the hall was filled with the sound of synth-pop.

 

There were three people dancing in the mirror-surrounded room. The dance consisted of vogue-like moves, and they were all dressed in clothes reminiscent of the 70s. Taemin stood in the doorway, not wanting to interrupt their practice, while Jonghyun had to peer over Taemin’s shoulder.

 

Once the song ended with the dancers kneeling on the ground, Taemin began to clap, and they all turned around surprised, obviously not realizing they were being watched.

 

“Taemin! It’s been forever!” The sole male dancer said, approaching the prince and wrapping him in a hug.

 

“Jongin, get off of me, you’re all sweaty.” Taemin whined, but Jongin just held tighter.

 

“Hey now, make room for the rest of us.” A short haired girl said, standing next to another girl with hair down to her waist. Jongin pulled away and they both hugged him at the same time.

 

“You guys are sweaty too, you know.” Taemin pouted, but still reciprocated the hug.

 

The long-haired girl lightly smacked him upside the head. “Shut up, kid. It’s been a month since we’ve seen you, let us have our moment.”

 

“I’m older than you.”

 

“Don’t care.”

 

“Krystal, come on, my friend is here.” The two girls finally pulled away.

 

“What, are we embarrassing you or something?” The short haired girl said with a playful grin.

 

“No, it’s just…” Taemin sighed.

 

“Don’t be rude, Taemin, introduce your friend to us.” Krystal said, looking at the man who had been awkwardly standing in the hallway this entire time.

 

“Ah, right. Amber, Krystal, Jongin, this is my friend Jonghyun-hyung.” Taemin replied, gesturing towards the older man. Jonghyun’s heart skipped a beat and his ears grew hot. Taemin just said they were friends.

 

That probably shouldn’t make him as happy as it does.

 

“Nice to meet you.” Jonghyun said with a bow, regaining his composure.

 

“Nice to meet you.” They all answered back, also bowing.

 

“You’re all very talented dancers.” Jonghyun remarked, hoping it was a good ice breaker.

 

“Thanks!” Amber said, putting her arm around Taemin’s shoulders. “Taemin here was supposed to be a part of the routine at first, but that obviously changed. Bet you would’ve liked to see that, huh?”

 

Jonghyun and Taemin both blushed at the same time. “No, uh, I think you have the wrong idea.” Jonghyun fumbled. “We’re not a couple.”

 

“Amber, why…” Taemin hid behind his hands for the second time that day.

 

“Hey, it’s only logical for her to assume that. You’ve never introduced us to any of your friends before.” Jongin spoke up.

 

“That’s because we’re Taemin-oppa’s only friends.” Krystal smirked.

 

“That’s not true!” Jonghyun said, mouth open wide. “Minho’s his friend, and I’m his friend, and Kibum is...sort of his friend…”

 

Krystal let out a high-pitched laugh. “Oppa, we’re only joking.” She ruffled Taemin’s hair from where she was standing. “We love him, we just like to tease him.”

 

“Krystal…” Taemin pouted, and all three of his friends hugged him again, playfully swaying him from side to side. Jongin made a remark about how cute Taemin is, which made him pout harder. Jonghyun watched from the doorway, smiling to himself.  _ Taemin is really cute, isn’t he? Being smushed by his friends, his pout eventually giving way to laughter, the way his hair looked ruffled… _

 

Shit, he’s doing it again.  _ Stop being a creeper, Kim Jonghyun, _ he told himself. It’s normal for an instructor to worry about his pupil’s well-being, right? That’s the only reason his heart skipped a beat when he said they were friends, or why he thought about kissing him, and why right now seeing Taemin smile is making his heart soar.

 

That’s the only reason.

  
  


After the three dancers changed into their casual clothes and cleaned up a bit, everyone sat on the floor of the dance room and played guessing games on Jongin’s phone. Two hours passed by like that, clutching their stomachs as they laughed and occasionally smacking their head against the wooden floors. Even though Jonghyun had just met these people that day, he didn’t feel awkward and was accepted as part of the group. Eventually, it was time for the studio to close, and they went their separate ways, Jongin going to his apartment to study and Amber and Krystal meeting with their girlfriends for dinner.

 

It was colder out now, so Taemin wrapped himself in a tight hug as they walked. “We should find a place for dinner, too.” He said, scrunching his nose. “Amber and Krystal get real lovey-dovey when they’re with their girlfriends, and I don’t want any part of that.”

 

“You don’t like lovey-dovey things?” Jonghyun asked.

 

“No. Well, yeah, sort of. I’ve just never had a boyfriend so I get kind of uncomfortable is all…” His voice trailed off at the end.

 

“That’s understandable.” They continued walking, Jonghyun eyeing the restaurants they passed in hopes there’d be anything good. “You have anywhere in mind for dinner?”

 

Taemin tilted his head and pursed his lips in thought. “There’s a music club a few blocks from here, I heard they serve good meat. I’ve never been there, though.”

 

“That sounds great, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun grinned, reaching for Taemin’s hand as the other walked ahead. He pulled back when he realized exactly what he was doing. 

 

_ I really need to get a hold of myself soon. _

* * *

 

Since they had arrived at the club rather early, the band was only just setting up and there were only a few people milling about. It didn’t take long for Jonghyun and Taemin’s meals to arrive, and once they did, the band had started a slow, acoustic song. As they ate, Jonghyun found himself humming along to the music.

 

“Do you know this song?” Taemin asked, swallowing a large bite of his steak.

 

“No, I’m just humming.” Jonghyun replied.

 

“How can you hum along if you don’t know the song already?”

 

“Musical aptitude.” Jonghyun smirked and Taemin rolled his eyes.

 

“You’re just being a show off.”

 

“Why would I need to show off to you?” Jonghyun raised his eyebrow and smirked again.

 

“Now you’re just being cocky.” Taemin mumbled, crossing his arms.

 

Jonghyun gave a genuine smile this time. “I’m just teasing, Taemin-ah.” He said, deciding to leave out the fact that he was doing it to see Taemin pout again.

 

Taemin went off into this whole spiel how much he hates it when his friends tease him and now Jonghyun’s doing it too which just makes everything worse, while Jonghyun rested his head on his palm and pretended to listen. He was way too preoccupied with the way Taemin’s lips moved as he talked, how he would gesticulate as he spoke faster, how his eyebrows would furrow when he mentioned something that made him especially angry.

 

_ Okay, so I have a crush on Taemin. It’s not a big deal. He’s a good looking guy, so it makes sense that I’d develop feelings, right? It’ll go away eventually. I’ve gotten over plenty of crushes before and Taemin is no different. _

 

Jonghyun grabbed Taemin’s hand and tried to pull him up out of his seat. “Let’s dance, Taemin.”

 

“You weren’t listening to a thing I said, were you?” Taemin replied, facing away from the elder and hoping he wouldn’t notice the pink tinting his cheeks.

 

“Can’t you just give me what I want for once?” Jonghyun whined, backing up onto the dance floor. He started moving his shoulders and brought his arms in close, trying to look cool but actually looking like a pitiful grandpa.

 

“You can’t dance like that to rock music, you idiot.” Taemin said from his seat, watching Jonghyun with a smile on his face and giggles pouring from his lips.

 

“Then show me how to do it right.” Jonghyun replied, moving his body even more to the rhythm.

 

“In your dreams.” Taemin said, turning back to his meal, only occasionally looking at Jonghyun out of the corner of his eye and smiling to himself. Jonghyun saw every one of those secret smiles and it just spurred him on to dance even more.

 

_ I’ve gotten over plenty of crushes before and Taemin is no different. It’ll go away eventually. _

 

_ Right?  _


	8. I Never Want to See a Naked Man Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of child abuse

“Lee Taemin, you had me worried sick!” Jinki gasped when his nephew arrived back at the mansion with Jonghyun. Turns out, the king and his staff had been trying to call him the entire day. Apparently disappearing in the morning without telling anyone is frowned upon in most establishments. Taemin’s mother insisted he had just forgotten his phone at the mansion (which he did) and that he knows the city well enough not to do something stupid like get lost, so there’s no reason to worry.

 

“He forgot his passport once during a school field trip and his whole class had to wait two hours for me to bring it to him before leaving.” Ms. Lee had told Jinki. “And besides, Jonghyun and his car are missing too, so they’re probably together.” Still, Jinki had feared the worst.

 

Jonghyun bent down into a 90 degree bow, eyes on the floor. “Sincerest apologies, your majesty. I should have contacted you before running off. I assure you, it won’t happen again.”

 

“I should hope not.” Jinki replied, rubbing his forehead. “Just...be more careful next time. _Please_.”

 

“Of course, your highness.” Jonghyun said, still bowing.

 

Jinki turned on his heel, mumbling something about “getting some damn aspirin”, leaving Jonghyun and Taemin alone in the lobby.

 

“...King Jinki must’ve been worried sick.” Jonghyun remarked as he stood up straight.

 

“Well I mean, he had no reason to be. I was fine, it’s not like he needs to know where I am every second of the day.” Taemin said, heading down the hallway that led to his room.

 

“Still, you probably should’ve brought your phone.” Jonghyun replied, following close behind.

 

Taemin pursed his lips. “But I always forget my phone. Ask anyone.” They reached the door to Taemin’s room, and he leaned against the wood as he faced Jonghyun. “Even if I had brought it, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it was ringing, anyway.”

 

Jonghyun cocked his head to the side. “Why not?”

 

A smile crept across Taemin’s face. “Because I was having too much fun.”

 

Jonghyun swore his heart skipped a beat. “I had fun, too.” He smiled back. Taemin turned to enter his room, looking over his shoulder to face Jonghyun again.

 

“Goodnight, hyung.”

 

“Goodnight, Taeminnie.”

* * *

  


The next morning, Minho walked through the front gate to the mansion, looking around suspiciously. Checking the windows to make sure no one was peeping at him, he jumped over the short bushes and onto the grass. Hoping he was headed in the correct direction of the garden, he broke into a jog, all while searching around him for any bystanders. He eventually reached the glass door connected to the main sitting room and went inside, closing the door slowly so it didn’t make any noise. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

 

“Minho? Is that you?” A voice called from behind him, causing him to jump. He turned around to find the exact person he was trying to avoid, Kibum, standing by the hallway, holding a cup of tea.

 

“Um, yeah, just visiting Taemin.” Minho chuckled and scratched the back of his head. Kibum nodded in understanding, taking a sip from his tea. Minho stood there, wanting to go down the hallway to Taemin’s room but not wanting to move any closer to Kibum.

 

“Sorry for, you know, kissing you.” Kibum said, gesturing towards Minho with his free hand.

 

“Well, I mean, we were both drunk, there’s no hard feelings.” Minho mumbled, looking at his feet and slumping his shoulders. He was kind of hoping Kibum didn’t remember that.

 

“You wanna...kiss some more?” Kibum asked, tilting his head and sipping from his teacup.

 

“God, yes.” Minho breathed, walking towards Kibum. He put his arm around Minho’s shoulders and let him down the hall, smirking the entire time.

 

Meanwhile, Taemin leaned against the wall of the lobby, waiting for his friend to walk through the front doors. He checked his phone every few seconds, rereading the message that said Minho was just outside the mansion gates. After five minutes had gone by, Taemin texted him back asking where the hell he was, but there was no reply. Sighing, he shoved his phone into his pocket and went into the hallway, figuring Minho must’ve used a side door for some unknown reason.

 

“Minho-hyung?” He called, waiting for an answer. When none came, he went into the sitting room and called again, and again there was no answer. Groaning, he climbed the staircase that led to the workers section of the house, hoping one of them had seen Minho wandering around. He caught the head chef heading towards the kitchen and stopped him before he could go any further.

 

“Kyungsoo-hyung, have you seen Minho anywhere?” Taemin asked.

 

“He was hard to miss.” Kyungsoo replied. Taemin wasn’t sure he liked the way that sounded.

 

“Where is he?”

 

“Forgive me, your majesty, but I don’t think you want to know.”

 

“What do you mean?”

* * *

  


The prince stood in front of room 823, the same room number Kyungsoo had told him Minho was in. Taemin didn’t understand why Minho would even be on the staff’s level of the mansion, let alone one of the rooms, but he pushed these thoughts away and knocked on the door.

 

“Who is it?” Someone called from behind the door.

 

“Taemin, I’m looking for my friend, and Kyungsoo-hyung said I should try here...I don’t mean to disturb you…” Taemin said, suddenly feeling sheepish.

 

“Hold on a sec.” A different voice replied, and Taemin could hear shuffling coming from the room. Footsteps approached, and the door opened to reveal none other than Minho.

 

“Hyung? What are you doing here?” Taemin asked, looking Minho up and down. He was still in his school uniform, but it looked like it had been put on in a hurry. The buttons on his shirt didn’t line up, and the top three were completely undone. “What happened to your uniform?”

 

“Uhh…” Minho said, ruffling his already messed up hair. “Taemin, I’m kinda…”

 

“Tell him to go suck a dick!” A voice from behind shouted. Taemin looked over his shoulder and saw Kibum, shirtless, laying on his side on a navy blue bed. He really hoped Kibum had pants on underneath the bedsheets. Kibum smirked and waved his hand as they made eye contact. Taemin looked back up at Minho with his mouth agape.

 

“What the fuck?!” Taemin shouted, backing away from the room and face flushing a deep red.

 

“Sorry?” Minho shrugged, and Taemin ran down the corridor, knowing he’s seen enough of _that_ to last him a lifetime.

* * *

  


In the other section of the staffs quarters, Taemin stood in front of a different door, fist poised to knock on the hardwood. He had asked Kyungsoo where Jonghyun’s room was, but now that he was there, he got really flustered at the thought of entering his hyung’s bedroom. Biting his lip, he knocked on his door and waited for the butterflies to subside.

 

“Just a minute!” Jonghyun called, and Taemin fumbled with the hem of his shirt as he waited for the door to open. When it did, instead of seeing Jonghyun’s welcoming face like he had expected, he was greeted by Jonghyun’s abs.

 

“Oh. Sorry Taemin, I thought you were Kibum.” Jonghyun said, whipping his wet hair out of his face. _Wait, why was his hair wet?_ Taemin thought and looked over Jonghyun’s body. The only thing covering Jonghyun was a towel around his waist.

 

Isn’t that just _dandy_.

 

“I just got out of the shower, I didn’t mean to flash you.” Jonghyun chuckled, face tinting pink. A drop of water fell from his bangs and onto his chest, falling in between his pecs. Taemin tried to place his hands in front of his crotch in a way he hoped was casual.

 

“Yeah, I actually have something to tell you.” Taemin said, gulping and hoping his voice wouldn’t crack.

 

“Not trying to be rude, but I’m just gonna go into the bathroom and put some clothes on. You can tell me once I come out, okay?” Jonghyun said, walking backwards to the room in question. “Make yourself comfortable.”

 

Taemin nodded, but didn’t make any effort to move. His heart was beating rapidly and he felt frozen in place. Jonghyun had gone inside the bathroom already, but Taemin’s eyes were still glued to the spot where Jonghyun had been standing. He shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to get a hold of himself. Forcing himself to think about anything but all the naked men he had just seen in the past five minutes, he looked around Jonghyun’s room, distracting himself by observing the decor.

 

The room was only illuminated by four lamps, two on the nightstands by his bed, a tall one in the left corner, and another floor lamp by the door. The curtains, bedsheets, and walls were all black, making the room dark despite all the lamps turned on. The head of the bed doubled as a bookcase, filled with books from foreign countries and the top of it covered with different scented candles. Just then, Jonghyun walked out in plain jeans and a black V-neck, rubbing his wet hair with a towel.

 

“What is it you wanted to tell me?” Jonghyun asked, catching Taemin’s eye.

 

“Well, you see, Minho was supposed to come over because it’s his last free day before the semi-finals, and when I went to find him, he um…” Taemin trailed off.

 

Jonghyun dropped his towel to his side, exasperated. “Don’t tell me he’s with Kibum.”

 

“Yeah, they’re kind of...busy.” Taemin looked down, cheeks burning pink.

 

“Try not to take it personally, Kibum tries to get with anyone who he thinks is cute enough.” Jonghyun said, sitting down on his bed and patting next to him as a signal for Taemin to join him. “He was trying to flirt with you the day you met, you know.”

 

Taemin scrunched his nose, settling next to Jonghyun. “Seriously?” Jonghyun nodded. “Has he ever flirted with you, then?”

 

“He tried, but I respectfully declined his advances.” Jonghyun said. “Kibum’s the kind of guy who needs a new fuck partner every month or so. Once he grows tired of Minho, you’ll have your friend back.” Taemin fought the urge to gag.

 

“Whatever. I’m just pissed because I got the video game room all set up for us to watch a movie. I even made nachos and now he’s just blowing me off!” Taemin crossed his arms.

 

“Well, technically he’s blowing Kibum off.” Jonghyun pointed out. Taemin playfully pushed against Jonghyun’s arm and laughed.

 

“And, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll watch the movie with you.” Taemin gave Jonghyun a questioning look. “Don’t want those nachos to go to waste, now would we?”

 

“We’re watching Mulan, are you sure you want to see that?” Taemin asked. “I-I don’t actually like the movie, it’s just a weird thing that Minho always does before a big soccer match.”

 

“You don’t have to pretend you don’t like animated movies in front of me, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun smirked, and Taemin scowled at him. “I happen to love animation, and I would love to join you for your movie party.” Jonghyun stood up and extended a hand for Taemin to take, truly looking like a royal’s servant.

 

“It’s not really a party…” Taemin mumbled, taking the hand offered to him.

* * *

  


The first part of the movie went by in relative silence only broken by the sound of nachos crunching. Taemin’s not a particularly good cook, but Jonghyun acted like they were the best nachos he’d ever tasted. Taemin called Jonghyun a nerd, but the light flush on his cheeks told Jonghyun otherwise. He rode on that high for a good half hour.

 

When “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” came on, Taemin was quietly humming along, hoping Jonghyun wouldn’t notice. Of course, he did, and began singing the lyrics rather loudly, hoping Taemin would join him in a beautiful duet. Instead, Taemin belted the chorus out, completely ignoring pitch and rhythm, and even added a few hand motions. Jonghyun joined him at an even higher volume, until they were basically just screaming the lyrics across the room. They were kind of surprised no one came and told them to shut up.

 

That was how they spent the entirety of the movie, quoting the funny lines and singing along to the songs. They both had seen it like a hundred times, so paying attention to the plot didn’t really matter. Being curled up on the leather couch, holding their stomachs as they shook with laughter, and screaming until their throats were sore was an ideal way to spend the afternoon.

 

That is, until the ending of the movie.

 

 _Okay, I’m not gonna cry this time,_ Jonghyun thought. Mulan presents to her father the gifts the emperor had bestowed onto her family. _Quit getting emotional, you’ve seen this movie a hundred times_ . Mulan’s father leaves the gifts on the ground and brings his daughter into his arms. _Stop fucking crying, you’re embarrassing yourself in front of Taemin._ “The greatest gift and honor,” her father says, “is having you for a daughter.”

 

“Shit, hyung, are you okay?” Taemin asked from the side. Jonghyun touched a hand to his cheek. Yup, he was fucking crying. He brushed away the tears with the back of his hand.

 

“Sorry, it’s just…” Jonghyun sniffled, his throat clogging up. Taemin watched wide eyed, not sure how he should comfort his friend.

 

“I wouldn’t have made you watch the movie if it was just gonna make you sad. I’m sorry.” Taemin said, stopping the film and walking towards the tissue box on top of the cable box.

 

“No, it’s not your fault, Taemin-ah…” Jonghyun took the tissues from Taemin’s hand and dabbed at his eyes. “I just cry really easily, that’s all.”

 

Taemin nodded and pursed his lips in thought. “Anything I can do to help? You wanna talk about it?”

 

Jonghyun chuckled. “It’s fine, I’m just...I just wish my dad was like that…”

 

“Oh.” Taemin replied, looking at the floor. “I never knew my dad, but I guess you already know that.”

 

“Knowing your dad isn’t all it’s hyped up to be.” Jonghyun chuckled again, wiping away the last of his tears. “But, if it’s any consolation, your dad was a very good man.”

 

Taemin turned towards Jonghyun, eyes alert. “How would you know? Did you meet my dad?”

 

“When I was a little kid, yeah.” Taemin looked off to the side, thinking deeply, before turning to Jonghyun’s side of the couch with his legs crossed in front of him.

 

“Tell me about him.” He requested, looking like a preschooler ready for storytime. Jonghyun leaned back on the couch.

 

“In order to do that, I’d have to tell you about my childhood. I should warn you - you have to be at least a level 5 friend in order to unlock my tragic backstory. Do you accept this challenge?” Jonghyun asked, and Taemin rolled his eyes.

 

“Stop being a nerd, just tell me.” Taemin whined, rocking back and forth.

 

“Alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Jonghyun said. “Well, when I was younger, it was me, my older sister, and my mom and dad. We lived out in the slums of Aellyn. My dad…” He paused here. “...wasn’t a good person. I had it better off than my mom and sister did, but...it wasn’t exactly a walk through the park for me, either.” Jonghyun looked at his hands in his lap as he said this. “I was left-handed until he beat it out of me. I think that should tell you enough.

 

“Anyway, after a particularly bad fight with my dad, my mom decided we needed to get the fuck out of there. Should’ve done it sooner, but you know how society treats single mothers. I’m proud of her for doing anything, really. I never could’ve been that strong.” He shook his head, trying to stop the tears from welling up again. “Sorry, getting off topic. We stayed with my aunt, or my mother’s sister, who lived near central city. The police were on the lookout for my dad, and we had a place to stay until my mother found a steady job. It was probably the highest point of my life at the time.

 

“On May 24th of that year, which, as you remember, is our independence day, there was a big parade. I’d never been to a parade or anything like that before, so I was a bit too excited and pushed my way to the front row, away from my family. I was blissfully ignorant of my mother’s worry for me until I realized I couldn’t find her. After everything I had been through...I guess I started to panic? I don’t know, but I grabbed the leg of the nearest adult I could find...and it happened to be your father’s. He was handing out necklaces to the other kids. Since I was stupid, and eight, I grabbed the fucking prince’s leg.” Jonghyun let out a laugh. “The guards didn’t know what the fuck to do, I bet. Your dad saw me shaking and crying, so he picked me up, and....he must’ve seen my bruises, or something, because he held me close and wiped my tears. I’d never been held by anyone besides my mother before. It was weird.

 

“My mom came rushing towards us, apologizing profusely for allowing her son out of her sight. But your dad was fine with it, and continued holding me. I don’t remember most of their conversation, but I do know they decided to meet up at another day. I found out later they met for a job interview, and from then on my mom worked at the castle as a maid, and me and my sister lived in the servants quarters.

 

“Like I said, I was stupid, and eight, so I just kind of had my own rules when it came to the castle. Even though I mostly stayed in the staff’s section, I sometimes wandered off, and was scolded by the workers. Still, it was better than anything I had known before. One day, I walked right into the middle of a conversation between your dad and a diplomat. That diplomat looked so pissed at me, I swear to god! But your dad didn’t get mad, instead he picked me up, still weird, and sat me on his knee, finishing his conversation with me like that the entire time. I know what you’re thinking, how could he have kept an eight year old kid on his knee unless he was Superman or some shit? Well, I was still really malnourished at the time, so I was closer to the size of a five year old. Anyways, once the diplomat left, he looked at me, and asked if I wanted to play a board game. I had no idea what a board game was and told him so. He tsked, and asked one of the staffs to go pick up his stack of cards. And then…he taught me how to play Go Fish.

 

“After that, I’d look for him throughout the castle each day. If I found him and he was busy, he’d set me on his lap just like that first day. Once he was done, we’d play games until he had somewhere to be. By the time I was ten, my mom had bought me an acoustic guitar and your dad taught me how to play. Music kind of runs in your family, huh? King Jinki used to study opera, and you dance...I think that’s nice.

 

“But then, when I turned eleven…” Jonghyun stopped as he chose his words. “...he passed away. I’m sure you already know how. We lost him, his two best friends, and three bodyguards that day. I didn’t really know much about death at that age, but I knew he was never coming back. I locked myself in my room for a week. Didn’t even go to his funeral. I really regret that.” He looked down at his hands, before sighing and continuing the story. “My mom quit her job at the castle not soon after. I think maybe she thought it reminded me of him too much, I don’t know. Anyways, she got a job at a restaurant and kind of fluctuated between jobs after that. I went to a normal school again. By then I had decided I wanted to give back to the royal family and dedicated my school work towards that goal. My college major was political science, minor was music. Graduated after 5 years. Most people would think it’s easy to find a job with a major like political science, but that’s fucking ridiculous. No one hires you unless you don’t have hair or all of it is white. They just don’t take kids seriously.

 

“In a crazy turn of events, my mom still had the palace’s phone number and told them of my struggle to find a job.” Jonghyun chuckled. “It was actually really embarrassing to have my mom ask for a job, but I didn’t know she was planning it so that’s my excuse. King Jinki still remembered me, and offered me a job almost on the spot. And that’s how I’m here. It’s all kind of ridiculous, but I’m really glad it happened. Been here for half a year now and wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

 

Jonghyun let out a breath and faced Taemin again. “Congratulations, you just heard my life story. Would you like another while we’re at it? I tell a great Legend of Chunhyang.”

 

Arms wrapped around Jonghyun’s body, pressing their chests together. Taemin rested his head in the dip between Jonghyun’s neck and shoulder, mouth covered by the fabric of his shirt.

 

“Uh, Taem? What are you doing?” Jonghyun asked, holding his arms away from Taemin. The prince shook his head, hair tickling Jonghyun’s back.

 

“Are you okay?” Taemin shook his head again, and Jonghyun heard a soft sniffle. Jonghyun wrapped his arms around Taemin, rubbing his hands across his back in a way he hoped was soothing.

 

“I’m sorry about your dad.” Taemin whispered, voice muffled by Jonghyun’s shirt. He probably wouldn’t have heard him if the room wasn’t so quiet.

 

Jonghyun chuckled. “It’s not your fault, Taeminnie.” He said, trying to gently push Taemin off. He replied by holding on tighter. Sighing, Jonghyun hugged Taemin back, marveling at the way Taemin fit so perfectly in his arms.

  
“It’ll be okay, Taemin-ah.”


	9. This is Basically a Sports Anime

Taemin sat across from Kibum, glaring at the king’s secretary. His fingers twitched against his knees as he waited for Jonghyun to arrive in the lobby and drive them to his school. Kibum was on his phone, no doubt sensing the eyes burning holes into his head, but choosing to ignore it.

 

Just as Kibum was about to ask what the hell Taemin’s problem was, Jonghyun stepped out of the hallway, dangling keys from his hand. “Are we ready to go?”

 

“I call shotgun!” Taemin sprang from his chair and immediately ran towards the limo. Kibum stared with his mouth wide open, before getting up and chasing after the prince. Jonghyun rolled his eyes and walked towards the limo at a normal speed because he’s a regular person.

 

As Jonghyun was opening the door to the car, Kibum was already in the backseat, leaning forward and arguing with Taemin.

 

“Is this revenge because I fucked your best friend? Because I could think of a million better ways to get back at me besides just stealing my seat that I ALWAYS SIT IN.” He emphasized that last part by sticking his mouth right next to Taemin’s ear as he yelled.

 

“First of all, fucking ow.” Taemin complained, rubbing his ear. “Second of all, maybe I just wanted to sit up front for my best friends’ soccer game. Third of all, I don’t even want to think about you two having sex so please shut the fuck up.”

 

“Really? You don’t want to hear about him moaning beneath me as I-” Jonghyun and Taemin’s hands pushed against Kibum’s face and he fell backwards onto the seats.

 

“Yah! Do you realize how much this face is worth?!” Kibum yelled, pointing at himself. His mouth hung open again as he heard Jonghyun start the car.

 

“Wait! You’re seriously just gonna let him take my spot?!”

 

“Absolutely.” Jonghyun replied, pushing his foot on the gas.

 

“But that’s not fair! You can’t just let this happen!” Kibum whined, arm shielding his eyes as he fell back dramatically, pretending to sob.

 

“Maybe I want to sit by Taemin...” Jonghyun mumbled, trying not to be heard. He didn’t do a very good job, and caused Taemin to look down and blush.

 

“And put your fucking seatbelt on, I don’t want your blood staining my car.” Jonghyun added, louder this time, as Kibum begrudgingly obliged.

 

After crossing his arms and glaring at the two in the front seats, Kibum’s pout morphed into a smirk, and he pulled out his phone. Taemin watched from the rear view mirror, shuddering as Kibum finished typing his message and gave a devilish grin to Taemin’s reflection.

 

This couldn’t end well.

 

* * *

  


Taemin barely made two steps out of the car before two large arms were wrapped around his ribcage, successfully restraining him.

 

“I got him, Kibum-ssi!” Said the voice belonging to the person behind Taemin, which he immediately recognized as Minho’s.

 

“It’s payback time, bitch.” Kibum said, cracking his knuckles. Taemin’s eyes went wide and his breath shortened as Kibum approached him with a devious grin. Kibum’s outstretched hands reached Taemin’s sides, and he furiously kicked the air as Kibum began tickling him.

 

“Stop! Don’t!! Stop it!!” Taemin cried as he thrashed around inside Minho’s arms.

 

“Don’t stop it? Okay.” Kibum replied as he continued tickling Taemin’s stomach. Taemin let out an inhuman screech in between his uncontrollable laughter.

 

“Minho-hyung!!” Taemin wailed, tears forming in his eyes. “Let me go and-” He paused to laugh and flail his head around. “I’ll let you borrow Splatoon for a weeHEHEHEHEEEK!”

 

Minho immediately let go, and Taemin made a run for it, ignoring his burning lungs. He crouched behind Jonghyun, who was just getting out of the limo, and peered over his shoulder.

 

“Jonghyun is now my barricade. You don’t stand a chance.” Taemin threatened.

 

Kibum ran behind Minho and hid in the same manner as Taemin. “As if. My fortress is ten times stronger than yours.”

 

“Is not!”

 

“Is too!”

 

“Is not!”

 

“Is too!”

 

A lanky boy wearing the same uniform as Minho approached them and placed his hand on his teammates shoulder. “Minho-hyung, it’s time for the pre-game warm up, let’s go!” He said, jogging towards the soccer field.

 

Kibum pointed a finger at Taemin. “This battle is far from being over.” He threatened, before wrapping his arms on Minho’s waist and turning him around to face him.

 

“Good luck, babe.” Kibum smiled, and placed a sweet kiss on Minho’s lips. Upon hearing Jonghyun and Taemin make gagging noises in the background, Kibum rolled his eyes behind his eyelids, and snaked his hands down to the curve of Minho’s ass. The gagging noises turned into retches.

 

Once they pulled apart, Kibum smirked and patted Minho’s butt as he jogged towards the soccer field. He then turned to glare at Jonghyun and Taemin, who were hunched over and bracing themselves against the limo as they continued to retch.

 

“You better get used to it, fucknuts, he has an adorable ass and I’ll touch it as much I fucking feel like.” Kibum huffed.

 

“But dude, there’s like, children here.” Jonghyun said, pointing at Taemin.

 

Taemin pushed the finger pointing at him away and glared at Jonghyun. “I’m 18, I’m not a child.”

 

“Yeah, he’s a big boy, he can handle some butt touching.” Kibum said.

 

Taemin rolled his eyes and started towards the refreshments stand, signaling the other two to follow. “Just because I can handle seeing it, doesn’t mean I want to. You have to pay for my therapy now.”

 

“I don’t owe you anything. You should thank me for educating you on the art of ass grabbing.” Kibum stated. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

 

“Maybe _you’ll_ understand when you’re less of a bitch...” Taemin mumbled, reaching into his wallet as he approached the counter to order his slushie.

 

* * *

  


The three friends shuffled along the bleachers as they made their way towards the empty spot. Sitting down, they breathed a sigh of relief that they didn’t drop any of their numerous snacks amongst the people jostling around. Kibum having cheesy fries and orange soda, Taemin with a strawberry slushie, Whoppers, and smarties, and Jonghyun a diet coke.

 

Taemin puckered his lips around the straw and took a huge sip of his slushie. “Jonghyun-hyung, would you like some? You only bought a drink and that’s not very metal…” He said, offering the cup to the man on his right. He totally wasn’t doing it to share an indirect kiss with Jonghyun. Absolutely not.

 

Normally, Jonghyun would decline sweets, but Taemin just looked so cute with his lips tinted red and his eyes sparkling eagerly he couldn’t say no. As he was halfway towards the drink, he had the perfect idea to mess with Taemin. He grinned and opened his mouth larger than necessary, making sure Taemin could see the pink of his tongue. He wrapped his lips around the straw, making eye contact with Taemin the entire time. Once he was done, he popped off and ran his tongue over his lips. He noticed Taemin visibly gulp.

 

“Oh, so you’ll get mad at me for touching Minho’s ass, but it’s totally okay for you two to make sex eyes at each other.” Kibum said, crossing his arms.

 

Taemin whipped his head around, face flushed red. “N-no, it’s not like that, I’d share my drink with anyone…”

 

“Then why don’t you share it with me?” Kibum asked.

 

“Gross, I don’t know where your mouth has been.”

 

“You don’t know where Jonghyun’s mouth has been either!”

 

“Kibum, you are dropping the subject immediately.” Jonghyun interrupted through clenched teeth. Kibum rolled his eyes and focused back on the game.

 

Taemin didn’t have time to contemplate what Kibum meant before a deep voice interrupted his thoughts. “Excuse me, but is there any room for me to sit?”

 

“Um sure, just let us scootch down real quick- “ Taemin peered up at the person he was speaking to, squinting his eyes in concentration. They looked really familiar....

 

“...Uncle Jinki?”

 

Jonghyun and Kibum’s heads snapped to the side at the sound of that name. Sure enough, there stood King Jinki. He was wearing a brown scarf around his head and large white sunglasses, but there was no doubt it was him. His two workers stood up and bowed, not even thinking about the other people present.

 

“Aah! No, no, don’t bow, stand back up!” Jinki exclaimed, making rising motions with his hands and looking around nervously to see if anyone noticed.

 

“Uncle, what are you doing here?” Taemin asked, standing alongside Jonghyun and Kibum.

 

“Well, you see, I meant - “ He cleared his throat. “I just wanted to get out of the mansion, that’s all…”

 

“In all due respect, your highness, you could have just requested for us to take you out.” Kibum said, wringing his hands.

 

“No! I mean, no, I wanted to go out by myself.” Jinki slumped his shoulders. “I didn’t want any bodyguards around...you wouldn’t understand....”

 

“I do.” Taemin spoke up, and sat on the bleachers again. “Have a seat. I don’t mind.”

 

Jinki grinned in appreciation and plopped down in between Jonghyun and Taemin, causing them both to frown. _Cockblock_ , they thought in unison.

 

Barely 5 seconds into the game and Jinki leaned over to Taemin and started asking questions. “Which color is Minho?”

 

“He’s in turquoise.” Taemin replied.

 

“I don’t see him, what number is he?”

 

“Number 12. He has the ball right now.”

 

“Oh! I see him now!” Jinki grinned again like he had just won the lottery. Taemin took another sip of his slushie, blushing when he remembered Jonghyun had just put his own lips around the straw.

 

“Why did Minho just kick the ball towards the other student? That doesn’t seem very nice…” Jinki asked, ruining Taemin’s moment.

 

“Did you see how the guys in yellow were approaching behind Minho?” Taemin asked. Jinki nodded. “Well eventually they would’ve caught up to Minho and stolen the ball from him, so he passed it to his teammate because he’s not surrounded by the other team.”

 

“Oh, okay.” Jinki nodded, focusing on the game again. “And this is…soccer, right?”

 

“Your highness, would you like something to drink?” Jonghyun interrupted, feeling a headache coming on.

 

“Why yes, thank you! Some gyokuro tea would be lovely.”

 

“I don’t believe they sell any here, sir.”

 

“Tie guan yin?”

 

“Apologies, your highness.”

 

“Jasmine Dragon Pearl?”

 

“How about some bottled water?”

 

“Oh, yeah! That sounds even better!” Jinki said, clapping his hands together.

 

“I’ll return in a moment, your majesty.” Jonghyun replied, turning his back and heading down the metal stairs.

 

“I’ll go help him.” Taemin said, rushing after his hyung.

 

Jonghyun smiled as Taemin ran to his side. “Hey.” He drawled.

 

“Sorry, I just didn’t want him asking me any more questions.” Taemin pouted.

 

“I never said I was angry, no need to apologize.” Jonghyun smirked, and Taemin looked to the side, cheeks burning pink.

 

“I just didn’t want you to think I was following you, that’s all.”

 

“Nah, you’re fine. It’s better than walking alone.” Jonghyun pulled out his wallet as they walked closer to the snack stand. “You wanna split a pack of Skittles?”

 

“Only if I get all the red ones!” Taemin smiled, standing beside Jonghyun at the counter. They told the cashier what they wanted, and Taemin began to pull out his own wallet.

 

“What are you doing?” Jonghyun questioned.

 

“I’m gonna pay for half the Skittles?” Taemin answered, thinking it was obvious.

 

“No no, it’s on me.” Jonghyun slid his cash across the counter.

 

“But it only makes sense that if we’re sharing I should pay for part of it!”

 

“Taemin-ah, it’s not that expensive, it’s not a problem…”

 

The cashier giggled from behind her hand, cutting off their quarrel.

 

“Sorry, it’s just...you’re cute together, if you don’t mind my saying.” Both Jonghyun and Taemin felt their faces burning.

 

“No, you got it wrong, we’re not…” He looked towards Taemin for help but he was blushing just as hard, if not harder. “...just please get the Skittles…” Jonghyun sighed, resting his hand against his forehead. The cashier returned with the water and candy, and Jonghyun paid for all of it by himself.

 

“Thank you…” Taemin mumbled, still flushing pink. Jonghyun could barely suppress his smile at how cute Taemin was.

 

* * *

  


When they were back at their seats, Taemin’s mouth dropped in shock at what he found.

 

“You guys aren’t even watching the game!” Taemin exclaimed, glaring at Jinki and Kibum huddled around Kibum’s phone.

 

“Well I was fucking bored, and his highness doesn’t understand what’s going on, so we decided to play a game instead.” Kibum replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.

 

“What are you even playing?” Taemin asked, trying to peer over their shoulders.

 

“Tsum Tsum…” Jinki and Kibum said at the same time, slightly embarrassed. Jonghyun gasped from the side.

 

“No way! You play Tsum Tsum too?! You have to add me! No wait, first let me see your collection. No, actually, first let me…”

 

Taemin tuned out, rolling his eyes and looking at the scoreboard. His team was winning, but only by a little bit. He opened his Skittles pack and started popping all the red ones into his mouth, occasionally looking to the side at his friends being nerds.

 

 _Oh well,_ he thought. _At least I don’t have to deal with bitchy Mc Bitchpants, clueless ahjussi, and subtle blowjob reference dude anymore..._

 

* * *

  


“Hey guys?” Taemin called, grabbing the three men’s attention. “There’s only five minutes left, do you think you could focus for that long at least?” They all grumbled as they turned away from Kibum’s phone and towards the soccer game. Despite themselves, they were actually getting caught up in the heat of the moment, and stood up with everyone else in the bleachers in the last minute.

 

“Hey, I can’t see!” Jonghyun complained, balancing on his toes in an attempt to see over the other, much taller people in front of him.

 

“You should’ve drank your milk growing up!” Kibum laughed. Only 30 seconds left in the game and the two teams were tied.

 

Just then, Minho had the ball at his feet and was sprinting across the field.

 

“Go, hyung, go!” Taemin shouted, jumping up and down.

 

“Does Minho have the ball?” Jonghyun asked.

 

Minho tricked the goalie by making him think he was shooting for the right side of the net, but then he shot the ball towards the left side and made it in. The crowd went wild, cheering and throwing their empty trash into the air.

 

“I hope they’re planning on picking that up.” Jinki reproached, crossing his arms.

 

“Come on, we have to go congratulate Minho!” Taemin shouted, enthusiastically waving everyone over so they could descend down the stairs towards the field.

 

By the time they were close enough to see Minho, he was already talking to a group of girls. He was wearing a polite smile, but his eyes had a layer of anger around them. When they recognized the girl he was talking to, they understood why.

 

“We were planning on getting ice cream after the game, you should join us.” Han-na said, flipping her hair.

 

“No offense, but I don’t really want to go anywhere with you after what you did to Taemin.” Minho responded, still keeping his polite smile.

 

Han-na’s lip curled up. “It wasn’t a suggestion.”

 

“Hey babe, who are you talking to?” Kibum asked, wrapping an arm around Minho’s shoulder.

 

Han-na scoffed. “Oppa, who is this?” She seethed, looking Kibum up and down.

 

“I’m Minho’s fucking boyfriend, and I wasn’t speaking to you.”

 

Han-na stuck her lip out, looking genuinely hurt. “Oppa, you’re cheating on me?”

 

“Han-na, I would never date you in a million years.” Minho said, and turned his head to the side to kiss Kibum. Han-na shrieked and stomped her feet, but when neither men took notice, she huffed away, yelling at her group of friends. Once she was out of eyesight, Kibum pulled away.

 

“You’re really fucking sweaty.” He whined.

 

“You weren’t complaining last night.”

 

“Stop being gross and let his best friend through.” Taemin scowled, and gave Minho a quick hug. “You were great out there.”

 

“Thanks.” Jonghyun and Jinki also gave their congrats, and a few students, before Minho started complaining about how _fucking exhausted_ he was, and they all agreed to drive him home and then back to the mansion. Taemin stole Kibum’s seat again, but he didn’t say much this time because he was too busy flirting with Minho. Jinki made himself as small as possible in the back seat with the couple, feeling ridiculously uncomfortable, but sang along when Taemin played “We Are The Champions” on the radio nonetheless.

 

And when Jonghyun saw Taemin moving his head and shoulders to the beat of the music, he got his second great idea of the day.

 

* * *

  


“Hyung, where are you taking me?” Taemin questioned, following Jonghyun through the corridors of the mansion.

 

“Don’t be impatient, Taeminnie, you’ll find out soon.” Jonghyun said, flashing a smirk that he knew would piss Taemin off. He rolled his eyes.

 

They arrived at a round room with marble floors and a sound system against the wall and a large mirror on the opposite side.

 

“Hey, this is just like…” Taemin mused, being cut off by a slow waltz filling the room. Jonghyun turned around from the sound system and bit his lip, shoving his hands in his pockets.

 

“You gotta be kidding me.” Taemin slumped. “Is this just so you can see me dance again?” Jonghyun nodded. “I’m not going to dance just because you’re playing music.”

 

“I wasn’t expecting you to.” Jonghyun replied, approaching Taemin and slipping his arm around his waist. “ _This_ is how I’m going to make you dance again.”

 

He grabbed Taemin’s hand and intertwined their fingers, beginning to step side to side. Taemin let out a short laugh. “This is your plan? Forcing me to waltz with you?”

 

“It’s a good plan!” Jonghyun said, offended. Taemin scoffed, suddenly filled with an odd feeling of deja vu.

 

“If it was a good plan, you wouldn’t be the one leading.” Taemin said, quickly shifting the power to himself. Jonghyun gasped, not expecting the sudden change. “I’m the trained dancer, not you.” Jonghyun scrunched his nose in reply, letting Taemin lead him in the dance.

 

When the song ended, they pulled apart, both blushing a soft pink. “It worked, though! I saw you dance again!” Jonghyun smiled, scratching the back of his head.

 

“Well, not really…” Taemin looked to the side, still blushing. “You can’t really watch me when we’re that close to each other…”

 

“Like this?” Jonghyun asked, and swung his arms around Taemin’s neck, encasing him in a hug. Taemin let out a nervous giggle. “Stop, you’re embarrassing me!” Jonghyun pulled back, but kept Taemin an arms length away, still smiling, admiring him.

 

He wasn’t really sure what made him lean forward. If you were to ask him, he’d say it was Jonghyun’s fault for being so close to him. His heart was fluttering, he wasn’t thinking straight, and Jonghyun was right there. So, who can really blame Taemin for placing his lips over Jonghyun’s?

 

As soon as it happened, it was over. Jonghyun had pulled back, eyes wide with shock. Taemin was redder than a tomato, if that was even possible, the entire top half of his body blushing furiously. He fumbled with the hem of his shirt the same way he fumbled with his words.

 

“Oh my fucking god, I’m so, so sorry, I don’t even know what came over me, I’ll just climb into a fucking hole now, shit, I’m so fucking so- ” His rant was stopped by Jonghyun’s lips over his again, a hand around the back of his head pulling him closer.

 

Jonghyun’s lips moved slowly against Taemin’s, savouring the feeling of the prince’s soft, pink lips. Taemin was the only one with his eyes still open, not quite believing this was happening. His mouth wasn’t even moving against Jonghyun’s. He clenched his eyes shut, tried to mimic what Jonghyun was doing, and prayed he was doing an okay job. Jonghyun’s hand moved to Taemin’s cheek, rubbing small circles with his thumb. Taemin arms still hung loosely at his sides; what the hell is he supposed to do with his hands?!

 

As Taemin was about to place his hands on Jonghyun’s hips, Jonghyun pulled back again, and rested his forehead against Taemin’s, sharing their breath.

 

“Don’t apologize. Never apologize.” Was all Jonghyun said, and Taemin laughed.

 

“That was so fucking cheesy.”

  
“Get used to it; you’re stuck with me now.”


	10. Put Up Your Dukes, Sonny Jim

“Get used to it; you’re stuck with me now.” 

 

Taemin furrowed his eyebrows together. “I never agreed to that.”

 

Jonghyun stared in shock. “You kissed me first!”

 

Taemin let out a whine and hid behind his hands. “I know it was stupid I wasn’t thinking straight and I’m just an idiot - ” He was cut off by Jonghyun giving him a quick peck on the lips.

 

“P-please, don’t do that...” Taemin said, staring down at his feet.

 

Jonghyun searched Taemin’s face, bewildered. “Sorry, did I just totally misread the situation?”

 

Taemin looked back up in alarm. “No, it’s not like that, I just - ” He paused to put his reeling thoughts into words, “ - please, just don’t kiss me out of nowhere.”

 

“Sorry.” Jonghyun apologized, biting his bottom lip. “Can I kiss you now, since I asked?”

 

Taemin tried not giggle at how cute Jonghyun was being. He was trying to be serious, goddammit. “Hyung, I don’t know how to kiss.”

 

Realization swept across Jonghyun’s face. “Oh, that’s right, you’ve never had a boyfriend.” Taemin nodded sheepishly. “And you’re afraid of what? Disappointing me?” Another sheepish nod, but this time Taemin’s face was a few shades darker.

 

“That’s so cute!” Jonghyun couldn’t help squealing, earning him a punch on the shoulder.

 

“Well, no need to worry.” Jonghyun said, rubbing his sore shoulder. “You can practice kissing on me anytime you want.”

 

“What? Why?” Taemin said, tilting his head to the side.

 

“Because I like you. I thought we already established this.” Jonghyun replied, raising his eyebrow.

 

Taemin flushed pink again. “N-no we didn’t!”

 

“Oh.” Jonghyun titled his head and peered up at Taemin, sporting his best puppy dog eyes. “Well I do like you. A lot.”

 

Taemin swears his face was a million degrees right now. He decided his shoes were very interesting at the moment and looked down at the floor. “I like you too.” He mumbled, barely audible.

 

“Now can I kiss you?” Jonghyun asked with pleading eyes. Taemin raised his head and swore Jonghyun looked like a begging puppy.

 

“You don’t actually have to ask.” Taemin rolled his eyes, before pulling Jonghyun closer by his shirt collar. Their lips met again, and Jonghyun tried to lead, forcing Taemin’s lips to move alongside his. Noticing Taemin struggling with his hands, Jonghyun chuckled deep in his throat before guiding them to rest on his hips. It took all of Jonghyun’s self control not to just melt into Taemin’s lips, they were so soft. He grabbed the back of Taemin’s head, trying to deepen the kiss, when -

 

“Dinner has been prepared.” The chef’s voice boomed over the intercoms set up around the mansion. Jonghyun and Taemin nearly hit each other’s foreheads as they jumped in surprise. They continued staring into each other’s eyes, breathing slightly labored, before Taemin cleared his throat.

 

“I should go.” Taemin said, looking at their hands still resting on each other’s bodies.

 

“Mhmm.” Jonghyun hummed, only half-listening in favor of revelling Taemin’s flushed cheeks and lips red from kissing. He could get used to this sight.

 

“I’ll um...see you later.” Taemin said, pulling himself away from Jonghyun and trying not to all-out sprint towards the kitchen. He needed to compose himself after this life changing event and Jonghyun was doing the opposite of helping.

 

“Goodbye~” Jonghyun sing-songed, watching Taemin as he disappeared down the hallway and totally not checking out his ass. Taemin looked back once, before snapping his head forward and blushing as he realized Jonghyun was still watching.

 

Yep, he could definitely get used to this.

* * *

  
  


Taemin nearly yelped in surprise when he was met with Jonghyun as soon as he opened his bedroom door the next morning. Like what the fuck, it’s 7 am, no one should have a smile that big this early in the day.

 

“Good morning!” Jonghyun greeted with a horribly cheerful tone as Taemin rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Only once they were focused did Taemin realize that Jonghyun was holding a breakfast tray out for him.

 

“The fuck?” Was all Taemin could muster, self-consciously pulling his robe tighter around his chest.

 

“I hope you like rice, because that’s the only thing here I can guarantee is mostly edible.” Jonghyun shrugged. Taemin regarded the tray full of food; there was rice, as Jonghyun had said, but there were also fried eggs, toast with jam, and slightly burnt sausages.

 

“Ah, who am I kidding, you’re Korean, of course you like rice.” Jonghyun said, pushing his way past Taemin towards the two loveseats in front of the window. He set the tray down on the glass table and took a seat in one of the chairs, gesturing for Taemin to sit in the other one.

 

“Did you...make this for me?” Taemin asked, inching towards the table, keeping his robe tightly closed the entire time.

 

“Yeah, I was making breakfast for myself, but I still had like an hour before anyone else woke up, so I thought I’d make something for you to pass the time.” Jonghyun scratched the back of his head, trying to hide his blush but not doing a very good job of it. “And I figured yesterday was kind of a big deal for you, so…” He gestured towards the food again. “Here.”

 

Taemin’s eyes widened, but he shrugged and sat down, grabbing a piece of toast. “I’m not sure how to thank you.” He said, crumbs falling into his lap as he took a bite.

 

“I can think of a few ways…” Jonghyun smirked, and Taemin rolled his eyes.

 

“Don’t be gross.” Taemin warned, finishing the toast in two big bites and grabbing the plate of eggs.

 

“Well, actually, I was wondering if you had any plans today.” Jonghyun questioned, looking pointedly at Taemin.

 

The prince made a face that was probably supposed to look disgusted but ended up looking adorable (at least, in Jonghyun’s eyes). “Uh, school?”

 

Jonghyun would’ve slapped himself if it weren’t for his crush sitting next to him. “Right. I knew that.”

 

Taemin let out a sharp laugh that was slightly muffled due to the egg in his mouth. “Sure, you did.” Jonghyun let out a forced chuckle; holy shit, he was the one fucking  _ driving _ Taemin to school in the first place. Now he had to rethink his entire plan.

 

Sensing Jonghyun’s disappointment, Taemin spoke up. “But I’m not doing anything after school.”

 

Jonghyun visibly lightened up at that. “Keep it that way; I’d like to take you out tonight.”

 

Taemin nearly choked on his egg. “Y-you mean like a date?” He coughed out.

 

“I don’t mean  _ like _ a date, I mean  _ exactly _ a date.” Jonghyun smirked, enjoying how easy it was to make Taemin flustered.

 

Taemin blushed like a schoolgirl and looked down at his hands. “I’d like to. I’d really, really like to.”

 

Jonghyun was so relieved he sprang out of his seat and hugged Taemin before he even realized what he was doing. Taemin froze with his hands in the air as Jonghyun held him close.

 

“Um, hyung, my food is gonna fall off my lap.” Taemin said.

 

“Shit, sorry.” Jonghyun yelped before pulling away from the prince. He blushed again and pointed over his shoulder. “I’ll, uh, let you get ready.” He said, all but sprinting towards the door. Jonghyun waved as he made his way out and Taemin giggled behind his hand. While he finished his breakfast and got ready for the day, his thoughts were filled with imaginations of how his first date would go and how lucky he is to be going with a guy like Jonghyun.

* * *

  
  


“This Italian place looks nice, but does Taemin even like Italian food? Maybe I should stick with traditional Korean? Or is that too plain?” Jonghyun mumbled, scrolling through the list of restaurants in Seoul on his phone. He supposes he should have planned this ahead of time, but in his defense, he had confessed to Taemin only yesterday.

 

“What are you mumbling to yourself about?” Kibum asked as he plopped down next to Jonghyun on the leather couch, nearly giving Jonghyun a heart attack. He could’ve sworn he was alone when he entered the staff’s recreational room.

 

Jonghyun sighed. “Just trying to find a good restaurant to go to tonight. You wouldn’t happen to know any, would you?”

 

“But you can’t go out tonight!” Kibum whined, leaning across the couch into Jonghyun’s personal space.

 

“And why not?” Jonghyun raised an eyebrow, inching away from Kibum.

 

“Because you need to drive me and Minho to Paolodemaria for our date!”

 

“Since when was I driving you anywhere?”

 

“Since just now!”

 

“You never even asked me!”

 

“I’m asking you now!”

 

“Why don’t you just take the bus?”

 

“That’s not romantic!” Kibum pouted, crossing his arms. “Please, hyung? I want this to be special.”

 

Jonghyun sighed, looking back at his phone so he wouldn’t have to make eye contact with the man next to him. “Kibum, you and I both know you’re doing this for the wrong reasons”

 

The silence after that question was like a vacuum, creating a sense of emptiness. “What?” Kibum asked, hiding his confusion under a forced smile.

 

“I mean, you had sex with him not even a day after kissing him for the first time...hell, you probably would’ve fucked him in the bathroom if I hadn’t stopped you.” Jonghyun took a deep breath. “I know how fast you go through sexual partners, Kibum, and I don’t think it’s right for you to do this to a nineteen year old, let alone Taemin’s best friend.”

 

Kibum stood, looming over Jonghyun like a shadow. “You know what? Forget about driving me anywhere.” He stomped off, stopping once his hand reached the door handle. “You don’t even know anything about me and Minho, so you can go fuck yourself.” He slammed the door, making Jonghyun wince.

 

That probably could’ve gone better.

* * *

  
  


“What are you wearing?” Jonghyun and Taemin asked each other at the same time. They were standing in front of King Jinki’s mansion, Jonghyun waiting by his limo so he could drive Taemin to their first date. However, there was a stark contrast between Jonghyun’s suit and bow tie and Taemin’s ripped jeans and flannel, so obviously, one of them had to change.

 

“Oh, I didn’t realize we were going someplace super fancy.” Taemin shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “I’m pretty sure Kibum-hyung put some suits in my closet, so I’ll go change into one of those.”

 

“Would you like me to help?” Jonghyun called out, causing Taemin to pause as he made his way back into the mansion.

 

They held eye contact for a good three seconds before Jonghyun turned red and looked to the side. “I meant help you choose a suit, not...um…”

 

Taemin just laughed and walked backwards to the front door. “Maybe some other time.”

 

He watched Taemin enter the mansion before he realized exactly what Taemin had just said.  _ Wait, did he mean I could help him choose a suit some other time, or help him get changed some other time?  _

 

He sincerely hoped it was the latter.

* * *

  
  


When they arrived at the restaurant, Taemin felt much like he did the first time he visited his Uncle Jinki’s mansion. The polished wine glasses lining the walls, the cushioned leather chairs, and the candles decorating each table were quite the contrast to his go-to restaurant; Burger King.

 

Normally, Taemin would’ve just shied away as Jonghyun talked to the staff about his reservations, maybe play with the hem of his shirt a bit, but he didn’t want to look as out of place as he felt. He kept a poker face and kept his hands at his sides as the server led them to their table at the back of the restaurant ( _ “To keep anyone from taking pictures of the royal prince on his first date _ ,” Jonghyun had said), although the other customers didn’t seem to pay him any attention at all. Maybe in their worlds, they were just as important as any royalty. Or maybe they were so old they didn’t recognize him. Probably both.

 

They sat down at their table for two and Taemin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He was so overwhelmed with emotions he didn’t even notice the server asking what he wanted to drink.

 

“Can we tell you in a few minutes? Thanks.” Jonghyun said to the server and reached across the table for Taemin’s hand as soon as she was gone.

 

“Taeminnie, are you okay? You seem kinda out of it.” Jonghyun asked, rubbing small circles on Taemin’s hand with his thumb.

 

“Huh? No, I’m fine, I just need a moment to get used to this atmosphere.” Taemin replied, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

 

“We can go somewhere else if you want.”

 

“At least let me look at their wine first.” Taemin said, grabbing the menu in front of him. Reading the list of wines and champagnes helped ground him to reality.

 

“You sure do love alcohol.” Jonghyun mused, before realizing that could be taken the wrong way. “Not that that’s a bad thing.” He added.

 

“Well, you’re paying, right? I intend to take full advantage of this opportunity.”

 

“When did I ever say I was paying?” Jonghyun leaned back and crossed his arms. “I mean, I am, but when?”

 

Taemin peered over the top of his menu. “When you were the one that asked me to go on a date and when you’re the one with a job.”

 

“Oh that’s right, I do have a job, don’t I?” Jonghyun said, feigning ignorance. “In fact, my job is taking care of you. I should be getting paid for this.”

 

“I don’t have any cash.” Taemin responded, setting his menu down.

 

“You can pay me in kisses.” Jonghyun puckered his lips and leaned across the table.

 

Taemin pushed down on Jonghyun’s head until he was settled back into his seat, making Jonghyun stick out his lower lip. “Do you take IOU’s?” 

 

“For you, yes.”

* * *

  
  


The rest of the date was filled with more lame flirting attempts from Jonghyun, soft jazz from the band next door, and just enough champagne to give them both a slight buzz. Jonghyun was really good at hiding his shock when he saw the receipt for their seafood dinner. He might’ve even fooled Taemin if he hadn’t asked for his earlier statement about being paid in kisses to be revoked.

 

The night had been virtually perfect until they stood underneath the awning of the restaurant to shield them from the rainstorm.

 

“I didn’t even notice it was raining while we were inside.” Taemin said, holding his arms around himself with a slight shiver.

 

“Me either; must’ve been too distracted by the pretty boy sitting across from me.”

 

Taemin pushed Jonghyun’s arm playfully. “Stop trying to make me embarrassed.” He sighed. “Is it safe to walk to the limo? I don’t want our suits to get dirty, they’re fucking expensive as hell.”

 

The light shuffling sound to his right made Taemin snap his head towards Jonghyun, before immediately looking away.

 

“W-why are you taking your jacket off?” Taemin asked, blushing. In response, Jonghyun held his jacket above Taemin’s head, creating a barrier from the chilly rain.

 

“Hold this up, I’ll go get the limo and drive it to the entrance.” Jonghyun explained, and ran off into the pelting rain.

 

True to his word, in less than a minute the limo was parked a few steps from of Taemin. He had to leave the safety of the awning, but thanks to Jonghyun’s jacket, not a single drop landed on him.

 

Taemin hopped into the passenger seat and quickly closed the door, throwing the soaked jacket into the back seat. “Thanks for letting me borrow your - oh, Jesus.”

 

He only looked at Jonghyun for a second before he snapped his head to the other side. Jonghyun’s white button down was basically completely see -through and clung to every part of his body. Taemin wasn’t sure if he should thank or curse the rain.

 

“Huh?” Jonghyun asked, searching the car for what could’ve possibly made Taemin look away in horror. When he saw the state of his own clothes he let out an airy laugh.

 

“Oh come on, Taemin-ah, you’ve seen me shirtless before.”

 

“It’s different now.” Taemin mumbled, refusing to look away from the window.

 

“Different how?” Jonghyun said, starting to drive down the block.

 

“Back then we weren’t…” Taemin swallowed; his throat was suddenly very dry. “We weren’t....”

 

“Boyfriends?” Jonghyun offered. Taemin whipped his head back towards Jonghyun.  _ Holy shit, Jonghyun just made us official. _

  
“Yeah.” Taemin smiled weakly. “Boyfriends.”


	11. It's Getting Hot in Here, so Put on All Your Clothes

The morning after the date, Taemin woke up without hitting the snooze button once, something completely unheard of before. Knowing he finally had his first boyfriend was more than enough to put a spring in his step and a smile on his face. It helped that said boyfriend lived in the same house as he did, so they could see each other basically any time they wanted.

 

Taemin ran into his boyfriend when he went inside the kitchen to get his morning coffee. Jonghyun was leaning against the counter, already fully dressed and showing off those goddamn forearms as he drank his coffee. His face lit up as he saw Taemin, and he gestured towards another cup of coffee that he had prepared specifically for Taemin.

 

“Thank you, hyung.” Taemin said, taking a sip before grimacing and reaching for the cupboard where the cream was stored.

 

“Sorry I didn’t put any sweeteners in it, I figured you like your coffee a certain way.” Jonghyun said, feeling slightly guilty.

 

“It’s okay, you’re actually right.” Taemin said, pouring the creamer into his coffee. “Thanks for being thoughtful.” He cupped the side of Jonghyun’s face and gave a quick peck to his cheek, before hurriedly busying himself with stirring his drink.

 

“That was so fucking cute!” Jonghyun cooed, facing Taemin, who refused to meet his eyes. “We’re like an old married couple.”

 

“I am not cute.” Taemin mumbled, cheeks flushed red.

 

“Beautiful?”

 

“No.”

 

“Gorgeous?”

 

“Stop it.”

 

“Stunning?”

 

“I will pour this coffee on your head.”

 

Jonghyun gave a cocky smile and drank his coffee, deciding to drop the subject for now. After giving Taemin a few moments to simmer down, he drawled out, “You know, I was hoping we could do something today…”

 

Taemin visibly perked up at that, although he tried to hide it. “Like what?”

 

“Netflix and chill?”

 

Taemin coughed up his coffee. “Excuse me?!” He exclaimed, wiping off his lips.

 

“You know, Netflix and chill.” Jonghyun replied, still wearing that stupid grin.

 

“Goodbye.” Taemin said, deadpan, emptying the rest of his coffee into the sink and leaving without giving Jonghyun a second glance.

 

“Was it something I said?” Jonghyun wondered aloud, sticking his lower lip out.

* * *

  
  


When Taemin went inside the limo to go to school, the first thing out of Jonghyun’s mouth was “Okay, but don’t you want to Netflix and chill?” Taemin sighed and ignored him for the rest of the ride.

 

During school, his phone kept vibrating with messages from Jonghyun, saying things like:

 

_ Y u no Netflix and chill?  _ _ (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ _

 

_ Netflix and chill tho?? _

 

_ NAC??? _

 

_ (that stands for Netflix and chill) _

 

Taemin turned his phone off for the rest of the day.

 

Once school was out and he saw the limo waiting for him, he already knew what Jonghyun was going to say before it even left his mouth.

 

“But Taemin-ah, Netfli - “

 

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE, JONGHYUN, I’M NOT GOING TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU, I’M A FUCKING VIRGIN.”

 

They both sat in awkward silence as they felt their faces heating up by the millisecond.

 

Jonghyun was the first to speak up. “W-when did I ever say I wanted to have sex with you?” He stuttered, taking his sweaty palms off the steering wheel. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t, I just think it’s a bit early for that and I - “

 

“Oh my god, shut up.” Taemin groaned, hiding behind his hands. He could almost cry, he was so embarrassed. “Do you not know what Netflix and chill means? Or are you just fucking with me?”

 

Jonghyun’s eyes grew impossibly wide in shock and realization. “Netflix and chill is slang for having sex?!” Taemin nodded. “So THAT’S what those internet memes meant…” Jonghyun flushed again as he registered what he has been asking Taemin the entire day. “Oh god, Taemin, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…”

 

He looked on in horror as Taemin’s shoulders began to shake. “Oh shit, Taemin!” Jonghyun rubbed his hand up and down Taemin’s back, trying to comfort him. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, god, I’m such an idiot!”

 

Taemin reappeared from behind his hands as his back fell onto the chair. His body shook with laughter, filling the car and making tears form in the corners of his eyes.

 

“You’re damn right you’re an idiot!” Taemin wheezed out, covering his mouth with his hand. Jonghyun half-heartedly laughed along, still feeling guilty about the whole situation. He wiped his hands on his jeans and bit his lip as he waited for Taemin’s laughter to die down.

 

“I can’t believe you got me so worried over nothing.” Taemin said, wiping his eyes. “I was so on edge during school, you have no idea…”

 

“Can you forgive me?” Jonghyun questioned, turning his attention towards the road.

 

“Huh? Yeah, of course. You didn’t mean it.” Taemin replied, removing a huge weight off of Jonghyun’s shoulders. “By the way, I would love to watch Netflix with you today.”

 

Jonghyun furrowed his eyebrows. “Wait, really?” 

 

“Yeah, I could even give you the kisses I owe you for dinner last night.” Taemin blushed.

 

Jonghyun’s face pulled into that cocky grin again. “I might just have to take you up on that offer.”

* * *

  
  


As Taemin set up the Wii U in the game room so they could start Netflix, Jonghyun observed his surroundings. The only other time he’d been there was when they were watching Mulan, so none of the lights had been on. The room itself was pretty small; just large enough to fit the couch, television, and a few baskets, presumably for storing the gaming systems. He wanted to take a look at some of the games Taemin had, but something else caught his eyes.

 

“Is that a karaoke machine?!” Jonghyun asked, pointing towards a small box hiding in the corner of the room.

 

“What?” Taemin glanced over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, Uncle Jinki gave it to me when I moved in, but I never actually used it.” He frowned at the red light on the Wii U’s gamepad and looked around for the charger.

 

“Can we do that instead?!” Jonghyun asked, approaching the machine before Taemin had a chance to answer. “I haven’t done karaoke since I was high school!”

 

Taemin paused with the charger in his hand. “But I already plugged the Wii U in…”

 

“We can still watch Netflix, I just…” Jonghyun grunted as he picked up the heavy machine and dragged it to the center of the room, “I just really want to do this, is all.”

 

Taemin plugged the charger in and shook his head. “There’s no way in hell I’m singing in front of you.”

 

“What? Why not?” Jonghyun asked, searching for the on button.

 

“Because you’re probably the best singer I’ve ever heard and I sound like my balls are being crushed by rocks.” Taemin mumbled, looking off to the side.

 

Jonghyun blushed and gave Taemin a bashful grin. “You really think I’m that good?”

 

“T-THAT’S WHAT I SAID, AND DON’T EXPECT ME TO SAY IT AGAIN.” Taemin erupted, red as a fire truck. “AND WE’RE NOT DOING KARAOKE.”

 

Twelve minutes later, Jonghyun had already finished three songs and Taemin hadn’t stopped grumbling on the couch. Jonghyun kept doing cutesy dance moves, yelling the lyrics at the top of his lungs, and addressing Taemin as “his loving fans” in between songs, but Taemin still refused to budge. In reality, Taemin was nearly bursting inside with laughter, but he kept a straight face because he’s stubborn.

 

That is, until now, as Jonghyun starts the fourth song. Taemin recognizes it not even one second in. It’s Chocolate. His favorite song. His lips twitch as he forces himself not to start singing.

 

“ _ I’m your fetish, throw away the boring clichés _ ,” Jonghyun sings, “ _ I’ll thickly color you tonight, cause you’re my chocolate _ .”

 

“It’s ‘I’m your chocolate’, not ‘you’re my chocolate’!” Taemin bursts out. “At least sing the right words!”

 

Jonghyun smirks in triumph as Taemin covers his mouth. All that stubbornness, gone to waste.

 

Taemin looks up to see the microphone held right in front of his face. “Then why don’t you do it the right way, Taemin-ah?” Jonghyun says, tilting his head to the side. Taemin groans and snatches the mic from Jonghyun’s hand.

 

“ _ Baby baby like the starlight, love spills down on you and me _ ,” Taemin half sings, half mumbles. “ _ I’ll sip a mouthful of your beautiful lips, you’re so sweet, breathtaking, I’m dizzy _ .” His face heats up as he realizes how much more sensual the lyrics sound when he’s singing them in front of his crush.

 

He barely makes it through the chorus before his nerves get the better of him. “T-there. I sang. Can we stop now?”

 

Jonghyun stared at Taemin in awe, causing Taemin to look around him for what could’ve possibly earned such a reaction. “What is it, hyung?”

 

“Your voice is really good.” Jonghyun said, before grabbing the microphone and holding it up to Taemin’s lips. “Keep singing. Please.”

 

Taemin pushed Jonghyun’s hand away. “Don’t be stupid, it’s not nearly as good as yours.” Taemin said under his breath, blushing for what seemed like the millionth time since he met Jonghyun.

 

Jonghyun brushed Taemin’s bangs out of the way and stood on his toes so he could press a kiss to Taemin’s forehead. “Your voice is beautiful, Taeminnie, just like you.”

 

“I understand what you meant when you told me to get used to your cheesiness now.” Taemin offered weakly, trying to divert the conversation away from himself. Jonghyun rested his forehead against Taemin’s and sighed, taking his boyfriend's hand into his.

 

Taemin shivered as he felt Jonghyun’s breath against his lips. “U-um, can we watch Netflix now?”

 

Jonghyun pulled away and smiled. There was something different about the way Jonghyun looked at him, but Taemin couldn’t tell what. “Of course we can.”

* * *

  
  


If someone were to ask Jonghyun what Taemin had chosen for them to watch that afternoon, they’d only get a blank stare and a half-hearted shrug in reply. Jonghyun didn’t look at the television for even a second, because while Taemin was getting the gamepad, Jonghyun had laid down on the couch. He was hoping Taemin would pout at him, or at least get flustered, so when Taemin laid eyes on him, he flashed his signature smile. But Taemin didn’t do either of those things. He did something Jonghyun never would’ve expected in a million years.

 

Taemin jumped onto the couch and snuggled in next to him. So now Taemin’s back was pressed to Jonghyun’s chest, Taemin’s head was resting on Jonghyun’s arm, and Jonghyun really couldn’t give a shit about anything else in the world.

 

In fact, Jonghyun was so mesmerized he didn’t even realize that the beautiful man in front of him was speaking until Taemin turned around to face him.

 

“Hyung, are you listening?” Taemin pouted.

 

“Sorry.” Jonghyun said, voice dropping dangerously low. “I wasn’t.” He pressed his lips onto Taemin’s, sneaking his arm around Taemin’s waist. Taemin tensed in surprise, but soon melted into the kiss, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration.

 

It didn’t take long for Jonghyun to shift their positions, so Taemin was on his back with Jonghyun hovering above him. Jonghyun took advantage of the new situation, kissing Taemin with more fervor and passion. It was almost suffocating, but neither were willing to break away, needing to feel the other closer, yet never close enough.

 

Taemin moaned into Jonghyun’s mouth as Jonghyun began caressing his sides, feeling his curves. Each of Jonghyun’s feather-light touches seared onto his skin, making him lean into Jonghyun’s hand. He gasped as Jonghyun’s fingers traveled lower, to the band of his jeans, and Taemin’s blood started rushing south, and…

 

Oh.

 

Oh, no.

 

“Um, hyung?” Taemin croaked, pulling away from Jonghyun and breathing heavily.

 

“Hmm?” Jonghyun replied, moving his lips down to Taemin’s jaw.

 

“I, um…” Taemin bit back a moan as Jonghyun sucked on a sensitive area. “I have a problem.”

 

Jonghyun raised his head and looked at Taemin quizzically. “A problem?”

 

Taemin bit his lip and looked off to the side. He couldn’t bring himself to say it, and instead just lifted his hips towards Jonghyun’s.

 

Jonghyun’s eyes widened when he felt the younger’s semi-hard-on against his pelvis. “Oh.”

 

“Yeah.” Taemin said, still refusing to meet the others eyes.

 

“Do you want my help?” Jonghyun offered.

 

“I-I don’t think I’m ready for that.” Taemin replied, wanting nothing more than to crawl in a ditch.

 

“Do you want me to leave?”

 

“No!” Taemin met Jonghyun’s eyes then. Even the thought of Jonghyun leaving him at this moment was unacceptable.

 

“Let’s just…” Taemin began, before taking a deep breath to compose himself. “Let’s just watch the movie.”

 

“Okay.” Jonghyun agreed, leaning back onto his knees so that Taemin could sit up. He immediately brought his knees to his face and drooped his head, letting out a pathetic whine. Jonghyun scooched closer to Taemin, but gave enough space so that they could move without immediately bumping into each other.

 

Jonghyun looked at the screen for a quick second before turning back to Taemin. “I gotta tell you, I haven’t even looked at the TV all night. I don’t even know what this movie is.”

 

Taemin giggled and picked the gamepad off the floor, returning back to the Netflix homepage. “Me either.”

 

They spent the rest of the afternoon in each others arms, watching Hercules, and just enjoying one another’s company. Taemin had to do some homework, so they parted ways with a quick kiss in front of Taemin’s bedroom door. And once Jonghyun was by himself, he suddenly felt very somber. Because he knew what was happening.

  
He was falling for the prince of Aellyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SWEAR THERE WILL BE OTHER CHARACTERS BESIDES JUST JONGHYUN AND TAEMIN NEXT CHAPTER.
> 
> I hope the fact that this is the quickest I've ever finished a chapter will help you all forgive me.


	12. I Control the Angst. I Control the Universe.

Taemin woke up the next morning even more giddy than the day before, which he didn’t even think was possible. He had to keep himself from completely sprinting to the kitchen, fully expecting Jonghyun to already be there and have coffee prepared for them both, but when he arrived, he found the kitchen empty. Jonghyun couldn’t have gone to Taemin’s room to deliver breakfast like he did before without running into Taemin on the way there, so needless to say, Taemin was pretty surprised. He shrugged, figuring maybe Jonghyun had slept in for once, and started the coffee machine on his own.

 

Taemin waited in the kitchen long after he had finished his coffee, only leaving once there was just enough time for him to get ready for school. He had hoped Jonghyun would’ve shown up sooner or later, but to Taemin’s dismay, he was alone the entire morning.

 

The two didn’t meet until Taemin slid into the passenger's side of the limo, Jonghyun already sitting at the wheel and ready to go.

 

“Where were you this morning?” Taemin asked as he buckled himself in.

 

Jonghyun’s fingers twitched on the steering wheel. “Um, Taemin, I kind of want to ask you something.” He said, eyes not leaving the road.

 

“Is something wrong?” Taemin squirmed in his seat; why wasn’t Jonghyun looking at him? The car wasn’t even moving yet!

 

Jonghyun snapped his head towards Taemin for a quick second before focusing on the road again. “What?! No, no, nothing’s wrong, it’s just…” He worried his bottom lip as he thought. “We’ve been hanging out basically every day this week, and I actually have to Skype my family today. We all follow a schedule so that we’re all free at the same time, and I just don’t want you to be disappointed or anything…”

 

Taemin tried to let out a laugh, but it ended up sounding cold, even to his own ears. “You were upset about that? Dude, just talk to your family, you don’t have to worry about me.”

 

Jonghyun finally,  _ finally _ , met Taemin’s eyes and he swore his heart skipped a beat. “Really?”

 

“‘Course. I can’t believe you were even worried about that.” The limo shook as the engine came to life and Jonghyun pushed on the gas.

 

“Yeah, guess I was just being paranoid.” Jonghyun mumbled, turning the car onto the street.

 

“It’s not a problem.” Taemin smiled, although Jonghyun wouldn’t even look at him for a second to see it. “Besides, I have some homework I need to catch up on.”

* * *

  
  


Taemin didn’t have any homework. Who even gives seniors homework? It’s not like anyone would do them, anyway.

 

He pushed himself off his bed, bare feet meeting the cold wood floor. Laying down on your back and counting ceiling tiles is not exactly the most fun past time. He thought about inviting Minho over, but with his luck, he was probably already in the mansion, preoccupied with...something else. Taemin shivered at the thought. He could ask to hang out with his friends from the dance studio, but they were most likely practicing for regionals.

 

Eventually he just decided, screw it, he’ll go see if Minho’s here. If he is, then he might be fucked, but he also might not be fucked. If he isn’t there, then Taemin will just have to accept his fate of utter boredom.

* * *

  
  


Taemin knocked on the door to Kibum’s room, which he luckily still remembered the number of. Kibum’s unmistakable voice called out a second later, “Who are you and what do you want?”

 

“It’s Taemin.” He rolled his eyes. “Are you decent?” Taemin asked, remembering how he was traumatized last time he visited Kibum’s room.

 

“We’re more than decent, we’re GORGEOUS.” Kibum laughed.  _ He said ‘we’.  _ Taemin thought _. ‘We’ a good sign.  _ Taemin opened the door and was met by Kibum and Minho wrapped under the covers of the bed and watching a movie on Minho’s laptop.  _ Well, at least they’re not fucking. _

 

“Hey Tae.” Minho greeted, before placing his head onto Kibum’s shoulder.

 

“I asked you two questions at the door and you only answered one. What do you want?” Kibum scowled at Taemin, face illuminated by the laptop screen.

 

“I was wondering if Minho-hyung was here.” Taemin said.

 

“He’s not, you can go now.” Kibum answered. Minho snickered and playfully tapped his chest.

 

Taemin crossed his arms. “Right. I’m  _ so _ sorry to interrupt you in the middle of,” he leaned down so he could see what movie they were watching, “fucking High School Musical 2, I was just hoping to have some actual human contact with my best friend.”

 

“You can join us if you want.” Minho said absentmindedly, glued to the screen.

 

“I’m not interested in being a third wheel, but thanks.” 

 

“Who said anything about being a third wheel?” Kibum piped up. He made a grand gesture to the empty space next to him. “ Ménage à trois ?” Taemin could literally feel the bile rising up his throat.

 

“Dude, stop it, you’re going to corrupt him!” Minho scolded Kibum before laughing into his neck.

 

“Excuse me?!” Taemin’s eyes bulged out of his head.

 

“Baby Taeminnie hasn’t even had his first kiss yet and you’re over here suggesting a threesome…” Minho tsked, shaking his head.

 

Taemin’s face started burning up. “First of all, I’m not some innocent baby so stop acting like I am one. Second of all, I have had my first kiss, so shut the hell up.”

 

It was Minho’s turn to be shocked. “You had your first kiss and you didn’t tell me?!”

 

“How could I when you’re over here getting fucked by Horny McBitchpants?” Taemin scoffed.

 

“He’s got a point.” Kibum mused and paused the movie. “I hope you’re planning on telling us who it was with, otherwise my limited French will be the least of your worries.” He shot daggers across the room, eyes hungry for some juicy gossip.

 

“W-well…” Taemin was glad there wasn’t any lights on right now or Kibum would definitely be making fun of how red his face is. “I-it was with Jonghyun-hyung, of course…”

 

The silence in the room was so thick you could almost feel it. Kibum’s face pulled into a mixture of confusion and disgust. “What the fuck?”

 

“I-I thought that Jonghyun-hyung would’ve told you we were dating.” Taemin looked at the ground.

 

“No he didn’t fucking tell me, we got into a fight the other day and…” Kibum let out a sharp exhale. “Why are you even dating him? You know it can never work out”

 

Taemin flinched. “Why would you say that?”

 

Kibum’s expression changed from exasperation to one shock and...pity? He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly as he tried to find the words to say. “You don’t know?”

 

“Know what?” Taemin replied, legs starting to shake. Minho kept looking worriedly between his best friend and boyfriend.

 

Kibum ran his hand through his hair. “Shit, it’s not my place to say. I’m sorry.” Taemin was taken aback by how genuinely apologetic Kibum looked. “You’ll have to talk about it with him.”

 

“You can’t just say shit like that and not tell me what’s wrong.” Taemin’s voice quivered; he was probably on the verge of a panic attack, but he didn’t really care. “Is Jonghyun-hyung okay?”

 

“He’s fine Taemin, I swear, but this is between you and him. I’m sorry, but I just can’t tell you.” He sighed and unpaused the movie. “It’s personal.” 

 

Taemin slammed the door on his way out.

* * *

  
  


Hoping the fresh air would help calm him down, Taemin decided to go to the mansion’s garden. It didn’t. He kept pacing around, not really caring where he was going, and biting his thumb nail. Who the fuck just tells someone they can’t be with their boyfriend and then not say why?! The worst part is, he couldn’t even ask Jonghyun what Kibum was worried about because he was talking to his family.

 

There was also the matter of whether or not Kibum was just messing with Taemin again, but he was reluctant to believe that because of how genuine Kibum had seemed. Besides, he wouldn’t take a joke that far.

 

...would he?

 

Taemin was so preoccupied with his thoughts he didn’t even realize he was a foot away from colliding into Jinki.

 

Jinki almost dropped his watering can in shock as his nephew was suddenly looming over him. “You frightened me, Taemin-ah!” He breathed, clutching his hand over his chest.

 

The prince blinked his eyes a few times as he was brought back to reality. “Oh. Sorry, Uncle.”

 

Jinki furrowed his eyebrows as he stood up from where he was watering his flowers. “Everything alright? You seem a bit...engrossed in your thoughts.”

 

“Yeah. Everything’s fine, thanks for asking.” Taemin said through clenched teeth.

 

Jinki hummed in consideration before handing the watering can to Taemin. “Why don’t you help me garden? I’ve been wanting to spend more time with you.”

 

Not even having the mental energy to argue, Taemin trudged along his uncle, his thoughts going by too fast for him to fully register what Jinki was saying to him. At first Jinki let Taemin water the plants himself, but quickly confiscated the can after Taemin nearly drowned his hydrangeas.

 

After a full five minutes of silence, Jinki raised his eyebrow at Taemin, who was staring at nothing in particular. Sighing, Jinki put down the watering can and faced his nephew. “Taemin, even though we’re not as close as I would hope, I can tell that something is on your mind. You are always welcome to confide in me.”

 

Taemin looked off to the side, a twinge of guilt wracking at his brain as he thought about how rude he must have come across as. He worried his bottom lip, knowing that Jinki just wanted to help, but he wasn’t sure what he could do…

 

“There is something bothering me, you’re right.” Taemin said, stating the obvious. “But I mean…” He let out a puff of air in frustration. “I don’t really think it’s something you can help with.”

 

“And why not?” Jinki asked, tilting his head.

 

“It’s...um…” Taemin bit some the skin off his lips. He didn’t really want to tell his uncle he was dating Jonghyun, because first of all, it wasn’t exactly his business. Second of all, what if he reacted the same way Kibum did? What if something really was wrong with Jonghyun?

 

So instead, he asked a more neutral question. “Have you ever been in love?”

 

Shit, that wasn’t neutral. That was borderline invasive.

 

Jinki’s jaw dropped a bit before he regained his composure, straightening his back, “Yes, I have.”

 

“Wait, really?” Taemin asked and mentally slapped himself. Now it was definitely invasive.

 

Jinki smiled, which made Taemin feel a little less guilty about being a rude creep. “I did used to have a life too, you know.” Taemin probably would’ve laughed if he wasn’t so upset.

 

“Would you mind, uh...telling me a bit about that?” Taemin said, scratching the back of his head. Maybe advice from a semi-old person could help his predicament, especially since they were kind of in the same shoes, being royalty and all.

 

Jinki sighed, but he didn’t seem angry at Taemin. “I suppose.” He gave his nephew a small smile and then got lost in thought.

 

“When I was about your age I decided I wanted to attend university. I didn’t need to, obviously, but I wanted to have a more expansive knowledge on music, and the tutors available in Aelynn were not quite what I was looking for. I wanted to be around other people my age who shared the same passion as I did, and let’s just say the professors I was given were old enough to know Mozart himself. So, I moved to America and attended Berklee College of Music. I made a lot of friends, and I made even more mistakes,” He blinked for a moment before clasping his hands together, “but that’s not what you want to hear about, correct?” Taemin nodded sheepishly.

 

“There were a lot of interesting types in the music program at my school, but none of them stood out to me as much as she did. Think of the most talented person you know and increase it tenfold. Think of the most beautiful person you know and increase it a hundredfold. She was caring almost to a fault, always putting others before her, even if it they didn’t deserve it, or it caused her to develop problems of her own. Her name was Robin.

 

“Oddly enough, she ended up asking me out first. Not really sure why. I’ll never understand what she saw in me.” Jinki looked away sadly before continuing. “It didn’t take me very long to realize I was in love with her. I would have spent my whole life with her if I could have. But one day, while we were curled up on the couch watching some pointless movie I don’t remember the name of, she asked if we could get married. And I had to tell her I couldn’t. She tried to hide her disappointment, but I knew how she really felt.” He made a vague gesture with his hands. “Something...changed between us that day. We never brought it up again, but I could tell it was always at the back of her mind. And that’s when I realized I could never give her what she truly wanted. I could never make her happy. And she’d be better off with someone else.

 

“I broke up with her the day my brother died. Since he was gone, it was my duty now to run the country. I had to drop out of college, say goodbye to all the friends I made, and say goodbye to her. But I think me moving back to Aellyn was the best thing that could’ve happened for us. She could now find someone who can give her everything she wants, and I am fulfilling my duties.” He sniffed a bit and his eyes glazed over. “Yes. It’s better this way.”

 

Taemin stood stone-still as he contemplated what he should do. He thought he should comfort his uncle, but that was way out of his comfort zone and he didn’t even know how to go about it. Besides, there was still something about the story that was bothering him.

 

“I don’t understand.” Taemin said, causing Jinki to tilt his head to the side. “Why couldn’t you marry her? Didn’t you want to?”

 

Jinki looked taken aback, but not offended. “Of course I wanted to. More than anything.” He turned back to his lavender tree and watered the base. “I’m surprised Jonghyun never went over this in his lessons with you.” Taemin flinched at the sound of Jonghyun’s name. 

  
“In Aellyn, royals are forbidden from marrying people who do not also hold a title of nobility.”


	13. Don't Abuse Medications, Kids

“In Aellyn, royals are forbidden from marrying people who do not also hold a title of nobility.”

 

Taemin furrowed his eyebrows as he ran that sentence through his head a couple hundred times. “Wait, so does that mean I can’t marry a...normal person?”

 

“Everyone’s a normal person, Taemin-ah.” Jinki replied, making a vague gesture with his hand.

 

“No, no, I mean…” He let out a puff of air. “Are you saying I can only be with other royals?”

 

“And dukes, and duchesses, lords and ladies, yes.” Jinki finished watering his lavender tree and stood straight, almost jumping back when he saw the anger lining his nephew’s eyes. “I’m sorry Taemin, I -”

 

“I have to go now.” Taemin said in a dangerously low growl before hurrying back into the mansion, leaving a worried Jinki alone in the garden. He sighed, picked up his tools and headed towards his shed.

 

He didn’t feel like gardening anymore.

* * *

  
  


Taemin banged on Jonghyun’s bedroom door, Skype call be damned. He deserved answers and he wasn’t waiting another second.

 

A bewildered Jonghyun opened the door a moment later, seeming visibly relieved when he was met with his boyfriend. It went away once he noticed the anger radiating off of him.

 

“I just had a talk with my uncle.” Taemin said, letting himself inside the room by pushing Jonghyun out of the way.

 

“That’s...good?” Jonghyun carefully responded, closing the door behind him.

 

“Yeah. He told me something  _ very _ interesting.” Taemin’s fingers twitched against his sides. “He said that royalty in Aellyn can’t marry people who aren’t nobility. Care to comment?”

 

Jonghyun held his hands up in defense. “I know, I should’ve told you sooner, but it never came up in lessons and - “

 

“Shut up! That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it!” He crossed his arms to stop them from shaking.

 

Jonghyun let his arms fall to his sides. “Well, Jesus, Taemin, it’s not like I’m planning on marrying you. We’ve been dating for barely three days.”

 

“That’s not the point!” Taemin yelled out, taking a step towards Jonghyun. “Did you ever even think about it? Did you never once have the thought that one day, just maybe, you could’ve loved me?!” He stabbed an accusatory finger at Jonghyun’s chest. “I bet you weren’t even talking to your family, you just didn’t want to see me, you fucking liar!”

 

“I was talking to my family!” Jonghyun shouted, pushing Taemin’s hand away from him. “And I did think about it! I just…” He looked off the side and sucked on his lower lip.

 

“You just what?” Taemin sneered. “Wanted to get in my pants? Think it would be fun to take some kid’s virginity, is that it?”

 

Jonghyun turned back to Taemin, eyes wide. “What?! No, fuck no!” He looked down at the ground. “Of course I thought about falling in love with you, I just…I didn’t know it would actually happen…”

 

They both felt their hearts stop in that moment. Jonghyun dared to look up at Taemin, only for Taemin to lean into Jonghyun’s face and seethe,

 

“Fuck you.”

 

He stomped out of the room, Jonghyun following after him without even a moment’s thought. He grabbed Taemin’s hand, successfully halting him, and Taemin’s hand twitched as if he was going to raise it.

 

This didn’t go unnoticed by Jonghyun. “Are you going to hit me?” He asked.

 

“I don’t think I can.” Taemin replied in a soft voice.

 

“Please, Taeminnie, let me explain.” Taemin glared at Jonghyun but listened to what he had to say. “If I had just wanted to sleep with you, don’t you think I would’ve done that on the couch yesterday?” Taemin nodded, begrudgingly, and Jonghyun continued, “And I never brought up the marriage law because...I didn’t want to.” 

 

Taemin scoffed, starting to pull away from Jonghyun. “Taemin, please. I didn’t want to jeopardize our relationship. It was stupid and immature and I’m sorry.”

 

“I don’t care.” Taemin spat, still trying to break from Jonghyun’s grasp.

 

“The other thing is most of the time I didn’t even think about the law!” Jonghyun said, pulling Taemin even closer. Damn those forearms! “When I’m with you, you’re not a prince. You’re just Taemin. Why would I be thinking about some stupid laws when I have the most beautiful person I’ve ever met right in front of me?!” He lowered his voice and tried to communicate his sincerity through his eyes. “I really like you, Taemin. I might even love you. And I will do  _ anything _ to make you forgive me.”

 

“Then let me go.” Taemin said, and Jonghyun immediately released his grasp. “And leave me alone.” He turned down the hallway and disappeared from Jonghyun’s sight, not even sparing a backwards glance. Jonghyun sighed, ran his hand through his hair, and went back to his room. Despite his best efforts, a stray tear fell down his cheek. And another.

 

Sometimes Jonghyun really hates how easily he cries.

* * *

  
  


After a good four hours of crying on his bed, then in the shower, then crying on his bed again, Jonghyun’s phone vibrated. He had missed a message from Kibum while he was crying, but all it said was that he should wear headphones tonight. Whatever that meant. But the most recent message was from the one person he wanted to hear from the most.

 

_ From: Taeminnie <3 _

 

_ Garden fountain. 5 minutes. _

 

Jonghyun bolted out of his bedroom, realized he was still in his boxers, then went back to room and changed quicker than you could say “Jongtae is real, fuck you Kelly.”

* * *

  
  


It probably didn’t even take Jonghyun fifteen seconds to reach the fountain with how fast he was running. He was surprised when he saw Taemin already sitting along the edge, drawing circles with his finger in the water. Taemin looked up at the sound of Jonghyun approaching, but kept his expression blank.

 

“I thought I would be the first one here.” Jonghyun said, sitting down beside Taemin.

 

“I’ve been here.” Taemin mumbled, looking down at the water again.

 

Jonghyun cleared his throat awkwardly. “W-what is it you wanted to talk about?”

 

“I’m still mad at you.” Taemin said, causing Jonghyun to make a face.

 

“Well yeah, I’d hate my guts too if I was in your shoes.” He grumbled.

 

“I don’t hate your guts.” Taemin admitted, rather forcefully. “But that doesn’t make me any less pissed.”

 

Not knowing what to say, Jonghyun kept his lips sealed.

 

“I’ve been thinking.” Taemin said carefully. “You were my first kiss, but...I wasn’t yours.”

 

“No, you weren’t.” Jonghyun replied, not really sure where Taemin was going with this.

 

“So…” Taemin continued, wiping his wet hands off on his pants. “You say you...really like me now, but...I bet you also really liked the other people you dated.” He set his hands in his lap and looked down at them. “So I understand why you wouldn’t think about marriage. You didn’t marry any of your other partners. Why should I be any different?” 

 

“Taemin-ah…” Jonghyun crooned, reaching his arm around Taemin’s shoulders. Taemin immediately tensed, so he settled for holding his hand instead. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have feelings for the other boys I dated.” Taemin’s expression visibly darkened at that.

 

“But…” Jonghyun said, and leaned in so his mouth was just brushing Taemin’s earlobe. “I’m going to tell you a secret.” He could feel Taemin’s skin heating up with each touch of his lips. “You could take all the feelings I had for them and multiply it by ten, and it still wouldn’t even compare to how much I care about you.”

 

“You’re being cheesy again.” Taemin said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. Jonghyun smirked and pulled back.

 

“It’s part of who I am, Taemin-ah.” He smiled and squeezed Taemin’s hand. “And I’m really sorry. I hope you can forgive me one day.”

 

“Hmm…” Taemin pursed his bottom lip out as if he was actually thinking hard. “That reminds me of another thing I was thinking about…”

 

“It’s a pretty dangerous pastime, you know. You might want to keep it at a minimum.” Jonghyun remarked, earning him a push to his shoulder.

 

“You keep pressuring me to dance for you, and you even forced me to sing once, but you know what I want?” Taemin said, leaning his face towards Jonghyun’s.

 

Jonghyun gulped. “Um...what would that be?”

 

“I want to hear one of the songs you wrote.” Taemin smiled and pulled back. “I asked awhile ago and all you said was ‘all in good time, Taemin-ah’.” He said, mocking Jonghyun’s voice. “Well, it’s time now. And you owe me.”

 

“Technically you still owe me for dinner, but since I’m such an unforgivable bastard, I think I’ll let you have this one.” Jonghyun said, giving his best snotty grin. Taemin had half a mind to hit him again before a melodic voice rang out;

 

_ It's late, let’s go inside now _

 

_ Another dark night and I’m taking you home _

 

_ The moon is filled up, it must be a full moon _

 

_ After letting you go like this, oh _

 

_ I won’t fall asleep for a while _

 

Taemin rested his head against Jonghyun’s shoulder as he sang out. Sighing, he closed his eyes and let himself be immersed in the music.

 

If he could listen to this voice every night, maybe things really would turn out for the better.

* * *

  
  


So apparently Kibum had a very good reason for texting Jonghyun saying he should wear headphones that night.

 

Because apparently Minho was spending the night.

 

And apparently they don’t know how to  _ keep it the fuck down. _

 

Jonghyun groaned and rolled over on his bed. Even covering his ears with pillows did nothing to block out the noise.

 

Rubbing his eyes, Jonghyun sat up and searched through his nightstand drawer. If there was ever a time to take an extra sleeping pill, now was it.

* * *

  
  


When Jonghyun went to the kitchen that night, he was surprised to see that the lights were already turned on. Everyone else should be asleep by now. Except maybe Kibum and Minho. He was even more surprised when he was met with Taemin’s gorgeous face as he entered the kitchen. Taemin paused in front of the fridge as he spoke, confusedly, “What are you doing up?”

 

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Jonghyun replied, heading towards the cabinet where the cups were kept.

 

“I just wanted to heat up some milk.” Taemin said, shaking the jug in his hand. “It helps me sleep when I have a lot on my mind.”

 

“Right. Sorry about that.” Jonghyun worried his lip, still feeling guilty about the whole thing. He filled a mug with water and swallowed it along with his pill.

 

“It’s alright.” Taemin filled his glass up with milk and placed it in the microwave. “You still didn’t answer my question, though.”

 

“Oh, right.” Jonghyun blushed. “Well, um, Kibum is kind of having a ‘sleepover’ with Minho tonight.” He said, making air quotations. “Needless to say, they are very loud and I can’t sleep.”

 

“Ew.” Taemin grimaced, stopping the microwave timer before it went off and grabbing his milk. “You can shack up in my room, if you want.”

 

Jonghyun swore his heart skipped a beat. “Wait, really?”

 

“Yeah. I’ll just sleep in the video game room.” Taemin said, taking a sip of milk. “It’s not a big deal; I’ve done it before.”

 

Jonghyun tried not to show how disappointed he was but even he could tell he didn’t do a very good job of it. “Oh.” He pouted. “You don’t want to sleep with me, then?” Jonghyun turned red when he realized the double meaning behind his words. “I mean, not like sex, but like cuddling and -”

 

“It’s not that.” Taemin interrupted, hiding his embarrassment behind his glass. “It’s just that I sleep in the nude.”

 

A pause. “So do I.” Jonghyun said.

 

They stood in silence for what felt like an hour but was probably closer to ten seconds. “But I’d put clothes on for you.” Jonghyun interjected.

 

“Well that’s a relief.” Taemin snorted and finished off the last of his milk. Setting his glass in the sink, he soundlessly grabbed Jonghyun’s hand and led him towards his bedroom.

 

“If you try any funny business, I’ll decapitate you.” Taemin warned, trying not to giggle.

 

“I am nothing if not a man of chivalry, your highness.” Jonghyun answered, placing a hand on his chest in mock offense.

 

“Ugh, remember when you actually called me that?”

 

“I was trying to get on your good side.”

 

“You did eventually. So, congratulations.” Taemin laughed and opened the door to his bedroom. He let go of Jonghyun’s hand so he could jump onto his bed, patting the space next to him to signal that Jonghyun should do the same.

 

Jonghyun crawled in beside Taemin and ran his hands along Taemin’s sides, causing Taemin to cry out. “That tickles!”

 

“What, this?” Jonghyun teased and repeated the action, making Taemin raise his legs and kick Jonghyun’s chest.

 

“I will kick you out of this room. You know I will.” Taemin scolded, continuing to push Jonghyun further away. 

 

“You’re already kicking me!” Jonghyun whined, and Taemin put his feet down, turning onto his back. Jonghyun scooched closer, wrapping his arms around Taemin again and making sure he didn’t touch Taemin’s ticklish spots.

 

Pressing a kiss onto Taemin’s cheek, Jonghyun closed his eyes and settled down onto the pillow. “Goodnight, Taeminnie.”

 

Something soft touched Jonghyun’s lips, and he immediately recognized them as Taemin’s own. “Goodnight, hyung.” 

 

(they don’t actually sleep for awhile, they spend like an hour talking about stupid shit, like why the second C in Connecticut is silent)

 

(or why people assume Wall-E is male and Eve is female)

 

(“Pretty fucked up that we assume that Wall-E is a boy. It's a robot.”)

 

(“Taemin?”) 

 

(“Wake up Taemin.”)

 

(“Listen.”) 

  
(“It's sexless.”)


	14. Such Care. Much Boyfriends. Wow.

As usual, Jonghyun woke up hours earlier than most people would consider socially acceptable, and the sight he woke up to was not at all unwelcome.

 

Taemin’s head was resting on Jonghyun’s chest, slowly rising and falling with each breath he took. The first rays of dawn were just peeking through the curtains, covering Taemin in a soft glow that made him seem even more angelic than usual. His lips were parted slightly, and Jonghyun thought they looked softer and more kissable as light puffs of air escaped from them.

 

He could have happily stared at Taemin for hours on end, but unfortunately his body had other plans in mind, because his legs were starting to cramp. And he was faced with quite the dilemma; either risk losing feeling in his legs for the rest of his life, or get out of bed and most likely wake the beautiful young man sleeping on top of him.

 

The longer he waited, the more he leaned towards the latter. 

 

Taking a deep breath, Jonghyun raised the hand not trapped underneath Taemin’s body and placed it on Taemin’s head. Running his fingers through the black waves of hair, he hoped it was enough to quietly wake Taemin up without giving him a mini heart attack.

 

Taemin hummed quietly, moving his head so his face was buried in Jonghyun’s chest. He quickly realized he couldn’t breathe in that position, so he raised his head and squinted against the light filling the room.

 

“Wha?” He mumbled, barely having the energy to move his lips.

 

“My legs are cramping, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun replied in a soft voice.

 

“Good.” Taemin muttered, and laid his head back on Jonghyun’s chest.

 

Jonghyun fought the urge not to whine. “Taeminnie, please, I need to get up.”

 

“No.” Taemin said, and wrapped his legs around one of Jonghyun’s.

 

“Taemin please, I don’t want to push you off.” Jonghyun said, stopping his stroking of Taemin’s hair and leaving his hand against his head as if he were about to do just that.

 

Taemin let out a sound that was half hum, half whimper. “But you’re waaaaaaaaarm.” He whined.

 

Jonghyun huffed. “Then at least let me move my legs a bit. My old man bones can’t take this much longer.”

 

In wordless reply, Taemin rolled off of Jonghyun’s chest and grasped Jonghyun’s arm from the side. Jonghyun breathed a sigh of relief and bent his knees, already feeling better.

 

“Done yet?” Taemin murmured against Jonghyun’s shoulder. Jonghyun scoffed as he spread his toes apart.

 

“My, you’re an impatient one, aren’t you?”

 

“Want my Jonghyun-hyung.” He breathed, lips tickling the skin on Jonghyun’s arm. Jonghyun would have rolled his eyes if the feeling of Taemin’s lips didn’t make his heart flutter.

 

Turning onto his side, Jonghyun faced his boyfriend, whose eyes were still closed. “Well  _ your _ Jonghyun-hyung wants  _ his _ Taemin-ah to be a little more patient.”

 

“But I’m a teenager.”

 

“Fair point.”

 

Taemin opened his eyes a little, just enough for the light from the windows to reflect on them, creating golden specks. Jonghyun placed a kiss on Taemin’s open mouth, lingering so their lips were just brushing against each other.

 

“I love you.” Jonghyun whispered.

 

A frown flashed across Taemin’s face for a split second.

 

“You don’t have to say it back.” Jonghyun said, finding Taemin’s hand under the covers and entwining their fingers.

 

“Thanks.” Taemin said, giving a weak smile and snuggling into the pillows. Sensing that Taemin was about to fall asleep again (or perhaps he already was?), Jonghyun let go of his hand, carefully leaving the bed so as not to disturb him. 

 

He shut the door behind him quietly and sighed, closing his eyes in thought. He could definitely get used to waking up beside Taemin every morning.

* * *

  
  


Fully expecting everyone else in the mansion to be asleep, Jonghyun entered the kitchen without much thought about someone possibly seeing him in his dinosaur boxers and Evangelion t-shirt. So when he was met with Kibum and Minho sitting on the kitchen counter, sharing a tray filled with breakfast foods, he hurriedly placed his hands over his crotch in a feeble attempt to hide his undies.

 

“W-what are you doing up?!” Jonghyun stammered, face growing hotter by the second.

 

“ _ I _ never went to sleep.” Kibum stated, using a fork to feed Minho a bite of pancakes. “Minho slept for a little bit, but that’s only because it takes a lot of energy to ride di - ”

 

“I don’t want to know.” Jonghyun interrupted, covering his ears with his hands. Minho swallowed his food and fed Kibum the next bite of pancake, turning his head to look at Jonghyun.

 

“Nice dino boxers.” He said, and Jonghyun quickly covered himself up again. “How’s Taemin doing? Did you talk to him?”

 

“He’s taking it well. Still kind of pissed at me, but I don’t blame him.” Jonghyun replied, then paused. “Wait, how did you know something was wrong with Taemin?”

 

Kibum swallowed the last of his pancake. “I kind of spilled the beans. I would say I’m sorry but I’m not really.” He fed a bite to Minho. “You should’ve told him right away.”

 

“I know.” Jonghyun mumbled, looking off to the side. “I would say thank you for forcing me to tell him something he should’ve known from the start of our relationship but I don’t like you.” Kibum flipped Jonghyun off. “Anyways, it’s between me and him now. We just...have to figure things out for the time being.” Hopefully.

 

Kibum snorted. “Yeah, okay. It’s between you, and him, and every citizen of Aellyn.”

 

Jonghyun’s eyebrows knotted together in confusion. “This has nothing to do with Aellyn. I can’t marry him so it has no effect on the country.”

 

“But you could, you know.” Kibum said, patting the side of his mouth with a napkin. “The law only applies to those who have formally accepted their role as a royal. Taemin obviously hasn’t done that yet.”

 

“So what?”

 

“God, you’re thick.” Kibum rolled his eyes, passing the fork to Minho so he could feed himself. “If Taemin decides by the end of his school year that he doesn’t want to inherit the throne, none of our laws will apply to him. Get the gist?”

 

“I’m not sure I like where you’re going with this.”

 

“If you just convince him not to accept his role by the end of the school year, he’ll be an ordinary kid like Minho.” Minho opened his mouth in protest, but was hushed by Kibum placing a finger on his lips. “Then you can ride your car into the sun and burn into a crisp, like in Grease.”

 

“You want me to what?!” Jonghyun asked.

 

“Well, you wouldn’t really ride your car into the sun, it’s supposed to be symbolic or some shit, I don’t know.”

 

“Kibum, you can’t seriously expect me to manipulate my fucking boyfriend like that.” Jonghyun said, body tensing in irritation. “Especially after what I just did to him.”

 

“I wasn’t  _ expecting _ you to do anything, it was just a suggestion.” Kibum replied flippantly, pointing at his mouth as a signal for Minho to feed him. “You still have like, a month before he graduates to decide. My point is, if you really like him - “

 

“I love him.” Jonghyun stated.

 

Kibum spoke to Jonghyun with his mouth full of chewed-up pancake. “Exactly! You are such a hopeless romantic, it’s disgusting.”

 

“Look who’s talking.” Jonghyun said, grimacing as bits of food flew out of Kibum’s mouth. “I hate the idea.” 

 

“Well the idea doesn’t like you, either.” Kibum answered, turning away from Jonghyun in a huff. 

 

Jonghyun rolled his eyes, then noticed a second plate of pancakes that hadn’t even been touched yet.

 

“This is mine now.” He said, snatching the plate away from the tray and heading back towards Taemin’s room.

 

“You’re welcome!” Kibum called after him, then focused his attention back on his boyfriend. Minho had his arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

 

“What?!” Kibum demanded. Minho just shook his head.

 

“I’m just trying to give them options. As horrible of a person I may seem, I don’t actually live on other people’s misfortune.” Kibum looked to the side in thought. “Well, not most of the time anyways.”

* * *

  
  


By the time Jonghyun opened the door to Taemin’s bedroom, holding the plate of pancakes, Taemin was already sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

 

“Baby, I thought you were going back to sleep.” Jonghyun said, pouting slightly.

 

“I lost my heating pad.” Taemin mumbled, limply letting his hands fall onto the mattress.

 

“Sorry.” Jonghyun worried his bottom lip and looked to the side. His gaze landed right on the plate of pancakes and he remembered why he came to Taemin’s room in the first place. “Oh, right. I have breakfast for you.”

 

Taemin squinted at the plate of pancakes and Jonghyun handed it to him, making sure he had a firm grip before letting go.

 

“How’d you make these so fast?” Taemin questioned, picking the fork and knife up with weak fingers.

 

“Oh, you know.” Jonghyun drawled, lifting the covers of the bed so he could sit next to Taemin. “I stole them.”

 

“Nice.” Taemin said, cutting the pancake into smaller pieces. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

 

“There’s still a lot you can learn about me.” Jonghyun picked the second fork up and held a bit of pancake up to Taemin’s mouth. “And I still have things I’d like to learn about you.” He watched as Taemin’s lips closed around the fork and his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “It’s too bad we don’t have the  _ entire _ day to talk to each other. And cuddle. And maybe kiss a bit.”

 

Taemin rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. “Yeah, what a shame.” He fed himself another bite of pancake, causing Jonghyun to pout.

 

“You’re not gonna feed me?” He sulked, trying his best to look like a begging puppy.

 

Taemin looked Jonghyun up and down. “Your arms aren’t broken.” He ate another bite.

 

Jonghyun let out a pathetic sob. “After everything I did for you…” He placed his hand over his heart as if he was in pain as the other wiped away a non-existent tear.

 

Taemin raised his eyebrows. “What are you gonna do about it?”

 

Jonghyun smirked.  _ Oh, so  _ that’s _ how he was going to play. _

 

Being extra careful not to let any of the food fall from Taemin’s lap, Jonghyun grabbed both of Taemin’s wrists and pinned him onto his back, shoving him into the pillows. Before Taemin could react, Jonghyun was already reaching behind himself for the fork and keeping his free hand around Taemin’s interlocked wrists. He gave Taemin a cheeky grin and put the fork in his mouth, exaggerating his chewing as Taemin tried to push Jonghyun away.

 

“Hyung, get off me, I’m gonna get a boner.” Taemin huffed.

 

Jonghyun jumped away from Taemin faster than he’d ever moved off of another man before in his life.

 

Taemin sat up, snatching the fork from Jonghyun with a glint in his eyes. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

 

“Yes yes, we’re all very impressed.” Jonghyun said, rolling his eyes as Taemin grinned mischievously at him. “Now eat your dirt.”

* * *

  
  
  


Seeing as it was Taemin’s day off from school and both he and Jonghyun felt too lazy to do anything productive, the two decided spend their day doing something familiar that required very little effort, watching Disney movies.

 

Well, it requires little effort as long as you don’t watch anything that will make you cry, which Jonghyun made absolutely sure he did as he sorted through his movie collection.

 

The first movie of the day was The Little Mermaid, and when Jonghyun played the DVD using his laptop, Taemin made himself comfortable by sitting on Jonghyun’s lap. Taemin’s butt wasn’t pointy like Jonghyun expected, which was a plus, but he was still taller than Jonghyun and made it very difficult for him to see the screen.

 

He settled for resting his chin on Taemin’s shoulder.

 

About halfway through the movie Jonghyun realized that every time a character said the word ‘prince’, his thoughts would wander to a certain someone he knew. Which was totally okay in his book. Except now he kept being reminded of the conversation he had just had with Kibum and it just made him curious. But how could he bring it up in a way that didn’t sound like he was talking behind Taemin’s back?

 

“Hey Tae?” Jonghyun said, chin bumping Taemin’s shoulder every time he moved his jaw.

 

“Hmm?” Taemin replied.

 

“So like…” Jonghyun started, unsure how to approach the subject. “All the talk about princesses in this movie has got me thinking…”

 

“Don’t hurt yourself.” Taemin snorted.

 

“Have you decided whether or not you’re going to take the throne?” Jonghyun questioned carefully, hoping it seemed like a casual observation and not something that could potentially dictate how the remainder of his life would play out.

 

“Umm…” Taemin hummed, pausing the movie. “I haven’t really thought about it much, to be honest.”

 

“Oh.” Jonghyun said, and cleared his throat. “I’m not trying to rush you, but you know you only have one month to decide.”  _ Shit, that sounded rush-y _ . “Just saying. You should be considering it.”

 

Taemin’s shoulders drooped as he let out a sigh. “I know. But I just. Don’t know right now.” Jonghyun noticed Taemin’s feet starting to bounce as he continued. “Like, I know I won’t have to rule for like, fifty more years. I’ll probably be mentally ready for it by then. Maybe. Hopefully.” Jonghyun ran his fingers up and down Taemin’s arm in a soothing motion. “And not gonna lie but I really like having all these nice things, and most of the people that work here are super nice, but…”

 

Taemin turned around so he could face Jonghyun, still sitting on his lap. “It’d be really nice to see you every day, even if we can never get married. And if I don’t accept the position, we’d be separated.”

 

Jonghyun tilted his head. “What makes you say that?”

 

“You’d move back to Aellyn, right?” Taemin said, tilting his head in a similar fashion. “And I’d stay here and probably go back to my old house.”

 

“Who said I was going anywhere?” Jonghyun asked, a smile forming on his lips as Taemin’s expression changed from confusion to shock.

 

“I don’t want you staying here because of me.” Taemin said, blushing despite himself. “You should be with your family.”

 

“But I want to be with you.” Jonghyun whispered, nuzzling into Taemin’s neck. Taemin’s grip on Jonghyun’s shirt collar tightened as Jonghyun’s lips brushed against his skin.

 

“Hyung.” Taemin gulped, prompting Jonghyun to raise his head. “What do you think I should do?”

 

“I think you should do whatever you think is right.” Jonghyun said, lowering his head again.

 

Taemin tried not to shiver as Jonghyun kissed his collarbone. “Hyung, I’m serious. If I wanted some vague-ass reply, I would’ve asked Minho.” He stroked the back of Jonghyun’s hair and their eyes met again.

 

“I want you to tell me what you think I should do.” Taemin said, searching Jonghyun’s face. “Not as a friend, or a tutor, or as a citizen of Aellyn. Just as my boyfriend.”

 

Jonghyun sighed and looked away, unable to meet Taemin’s eyes. “If I told you not to accept your position as a royal, it would only be for my own selfish reasons.” Taemin was about to question him, but Jonghyun continued. “If you don’t accept the role, we can get married like any other couple.” He shook his head. “But I can’t do that to you. Not after what just happened.”

 

“Well, can’t we just stay a couple and not get married if I accept?” Taemin asked, trying to make Jonghyun’s eyes meet with his. “It’s not like we need to be married to be together.”

 

“We do if we want the same benefits married couples do.” Jonghyun said, focusing on Taemin with a sad kind of seriousness in his eyes. “Like, if I was in a some kind of accident, and my family didn’t have the money to pay the medical bills and you did, the hospital couldn’t legally accept your payment because you’re not family.”

 

“That’s bullshit.”

 

“That’s life, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun sighed. “Also, I’m not sure if the older citizens of Aellyn would appreciate having a prince living with someone he’s not married to.”

 

“So what then?” Taemin’s voice quivered, body beginning to shake. “Can I just never be happy?”

 

“Breathe with me, Taemin.” Jonghyun spoke in a level voice, taking deep breath after breath with Taemin until he calmed down. “You can be happy. Just maybe not with me.”

 

“What are you saying?” Taemin whispered, voice raspy.

  
“I think you should accept your role, Taemin-ah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I got a new job because I'm unfortunately an adult.


	15. But Enough of Recent History, Let's Go Back in a Time Machine!

“I think you should accept your role, Taemin-ah.”

 

“Oh.” Taemin said, climbing off of Jonghyun’s lap- much to Jonghyun’s displeasure- and instead sitting at his side. “You know, um, you didn’t have to tell me all this if you just wanted to break up. You don’t need an excuse.”

 

“What? No.” Jonghyun shook his head. “Fuck no, Taemin, that’s not what this is about.”

 

Taemin stared blankly at Jonghyun. “I don’t understand. Why else would you want me to be a prince?”

 

“Because I thought that’s what you wanted!” Jonghyun answered, shifting so that he could face Taemin. “I thought you liked being rich and having professional meals and driving in a limo and - ”

 

“I’ll admit those are nice perks,” Taemin interrupted, “and yes, I was thinking about officially becoming a prince, but those aren’t the reasons why.”

 

“Then why?”

 

Taemin playfully pushed Jonghyun’s shoulder. “Because of you, idiot.”

 

“Oh. Sweet.” Jonghyun blushed and ran his hand through his hair. Then he frowned and looked off to the side. “I have no idea what we’re supposed to do, then.”

 

“...but you’re definitely not breaking up with me, right?” Taemin asked, looking at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs.

 

“I mean, in the long run, it’d probably be for the best that we ended this sooner than later…” Jonghyun sighed, and Taemin’s expression immediately soured. “But I don’t think my heart could take being away from you.”

 

Taemin made a gagging sound and focused on the laptop screen so Jonghyun wouldn’t see him blush. “I’m going to watch the movie now so I don’t have to listen to you be gross anymore.”

 

Jonghyun smirked, completely aware of Taemin’s embarrassment. “Okay, but I’m gonna bring it up again later. You don’t get off the hook just because you’re cute, you know.”

 

“It works on everyone else, though…” Taemin mumbled, pressing the play button and resuming their watch of Ariel and Eric’s first date.

 

_Life would be so much easier if Jonghyun was a mermaid prince,_ Taemin thought as the scenes played on the screen. _He’d be a royal then and we wouldn’t have this problem. There aren’t any laws against me marrying mermaids, right?_

 

_...or are there?_

 

_……………_

 

_...I’ll ask uncle Jinki about it later._

* * *

  


_13 years ago_

 

Jinki’s phone was ringing. He forgot to turn the sound off before they were seated at the restaurant, so now he was hurriedly reaching into his back pocket before too many judgemental eyes sneered at him.

 

His hand stopped once he brought the phone to his face. Lighting up the small screen was a number he knew all too well. He pressed the “call” button with sweaty fingers, holding the phone to his ear.

 

“This is prince Lee Jinki.” He said, all his dinner guests turning to look at him curiously at his sudden authoritative tone.

 

“Your highness.” A breathy male voice replied, clearly distraught. Jinki recognized the voice but couldn’t contemplate who it belonged to before it began speaking again, “I-I’m so sorry to interrupt your evening, but...” The man took a shaky breath and Jinki realized that he must be crying.

 

“Is everything okay?” Jinki asked, subconsciously pushing his chair away from the table.

 

“Your brother.” The man choked out. “He’s gone missing.”

 

A rush of cold spread from Jinki’s head to his toes. “What?”

 

“They went on a fishing trip,” the man’s voice whimpered, “They were supposed to be back yesterday, but - ”

 

Jinki shut his phone closed. He didn’t even care that it was rude. He needed to get out of here. The next thing he knows he’s standing up and grabbing his jacket off of his chair.

 

“Babe? What are you doing?” A concerned woman said from beside him, reaching out for his hand.

 

“Robin.” Jinki breathed, turning towards her. “I have to go.”

 

“Wha - ” Her sentence was cut short because Jinki was suddenly dashing through the restaurant, leaving his meal unfinished and his three dinner guests overcome with shock and confusion.

 

His arm raises to call for a taxi without his brain even telling him to do so. He doesn’t even mind when someone pushes him out of the way and takes the taxi for themselves. It’s like he’s running on autopilot, his body knowing what to do despite not being able to tell if his thoughts are so jumbled he doesn’t understand them or if they’re simply not there at all.

 

The ride home might as well have been ten seconds instead of ten minutes, Jinki is so separated from reality. Once they arrive at his apartment complex he pays the driver more than he needs to and doesn’t wait for the change.

 

It isn’t until he’s going up the stairs to his apartment that he realizes he’s crying, his blurry vision making him stumble up the steps. His hands shake as he struggles to find the right key and it scruffs the metal of the doorknob as he unlocks the door.

 

He heads towards his and Robin’s shared bedroom, forgetting to turn on the lights. By the time his phone rings again, his suitcase is already open and waiting on his bed.

 

“Hello?” Jinki says, turning around so he can rummage through his closet.

 

“Jinki, where are you?” Robin says on the other line, speaking louder than usual in order to be heard over the noise in the background.

 

“Where are you calling from?” He asks, not bothering to hide his avoidance of the question.

 

“I had to wait to use the restaurant phone.” She replies. “And please, don’t avoid the subject. Marie and Elise are freaking out back at the table.” Robin worries her lip as she waits for Jinki to respond before asking a different question. “What’s the matter? Is everything okay?”

 

“I’m at our apartment.” Jinki deadpans, shoving as many clothes as he can into his suitcase.

 

The clatter and idle chit-chat of the restaurant are the only sounds heard on both ends as Robin attempts to think of something to say. “What are you doing there?” She tries, knowing he’s choosing to only reply to certain questions.

 

“Packing.” Jinki says, walking towards the bathroom to grab some toiletries.

 

“Oh.” Robin says. Her knees begin to shake after a reply fails to come. “Was it something I said?” She asks, gripping the phone tighter.

 

Jinki’s hands are sweating so bad he drops the toothpaste into the sink. “He’s gone.” He whispers.

 

“Who’s gone?” Robin says, sighing as she’s met with silence once more. “I’m coming over. Please don’t disappear again. We’re going to get through this, okay?”

 

He’s certain he forgets a lot in his haste. His chest is tight as he continues packing, as though he forgot how to breathe. It doesn’t let up until he’s sitting in the back of a taxi headed towards the airport, Robin still two minutes behind him.

* * *

  


The funeral itself was packed, the many friends the late prince made over the years unable to hold back their tears as they spoke about his life and how he touched so many of their hearts. That is, except for the row of seats Jinki was now sitting in. The row reserved for family members. Save for himself and his cousin with his head between his hands, it was depressingly empty. A whole row virtually empty and hundreds of reporters waiting outside, trying to get even the slightest glimpse of the casket. Jinki would have laughed at the irony of it if he was able to feel anything.

 

People offer their condolences during the luncheon following the service. Jinki replies accordingly, before forgetting what it was they said. He’s not entirely sure he was listening in the first place.

 

The blurry feeling encompassing his body isn’t lifted until he hears shouts coming from the kitchen. Everyone turns their head as the chef drags a young boy out by his arm, headed towards the phone.

 

Jinki stands and cuts them off before they can make it. “What’s going on?” He asks the chef, eyeing the boy who’s fruitlessly trying to break free from the large man’s grasp.

 

“Your highness,” the man says with a bow, “this rat somehow snuck into your brother's funeral so that he could come and steal food from **my** kitchen!”

 

“I didn’t sneak in!” The boy squeaks, hitting the chef’s forearm as hard as he could. “Let go of me!”

 

The chef turns to the kid with a snarl but is interrupted by Jinki before he can get a word out. “Let him go.” Jinki says.

 

The chef looks between the boy and Jinki with wide eyes before releasing his grasp, bowing his head as he backs away towards the kitchen. The kid tries to make a run for it but is halted by Jinki, who clasps his hand on the kids shoulder and leans down to his eye level.

 

“How about you and I have a talk, hm?”

* * *

  


Jinki and the young boy sit next to each other on the steps in an unused section of the church, the boy clutching his blue hoodie to his chest, obviously hiding something inside of it.

 

“What did you steal?” Jinki asks, pointing his head towards the large lump in the hoodie’s fabric. The boy sheepishly reaches into his hoodie, pulling out a bag of white bread.

 

“God, what a fucking asshole…” Jinki swears under his breath, the boy gasping and staring in shock at what he just heard. “Oops. Sorry.”

 

The boy leaves the bread on the bottom step and brings his knees to his chest. His gaze is fixed on the ground and Jinki sighs, not entirely sure how to handle this type of situation. It’s times like this he felt his speaking lessons truly failed him.

 

“I didn’t sneak in.” The kid mumbles, drawing circles with his finger on the marble of the step. “I have an invitation.”

 

“May I see it?” Jinki says, and the boy fishes out the crumpled piece of paper from his pants pocket and hands it to Jinki, still fixated on the ground.

 

“Kim Won Hae.” Jinki reads aloud. “Is that your name?”

 

“No, it’s my dad’s.” The kid replies.

 

“What’s your name, then?” Jinki tilts his head to the side to try and make eye contact with the boy. He turns his head away. “You can tell me, you’re not in any trouble. I just need to know what to call you, that’s all.”

 

The boy turns his head forward again, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Kibum.” He sniffles.

 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Kim Kibum.” Jinki says, only getting another sniffle in reply. “Tell me, is your father here with you?”

 

“He’s dead.” Kibum whimpers.

 

“Oh.” Is all Jinki manages in reply. He drums his fingers against his thighs as he tries to think of something, anything, to say to Kibum that could possibly help.

 

“Is...your mother here?” Jinki tries, hoping for a better reaction this time.

 

“I hope not.” Kibum says, wiping his face with the sleeve of his hoodie. “She didn’t want me. My dad found me in a dumpster when I was two days old.”

 

Well, shit. Jinki clears his throat awkwardly, mentally cursing himself for making the already terrible conversation even worse. “Sorry...about...that…” Jinki says, moving his hand to try and pat Kibum’s back before deciding against it, arm falling to his side. Not knowing what to do, he pries further, seeing as finding out what’s happening is the only way he can somehow help this kid.

 

“Who’s taking care of you, then?” Jinki asks, pulling out his handkerchief from his breast pocket and handing it to Kibum. Kibum blows his nose into it and Jinki recoils. That’ll be fun to wash.

 

Kibum keeps the handkerchief scrunched in his hand, lowering his face into his knees. Judging by the lack of response and also the fact that he had to resort to stealing, Jinki figures the answer is ‘no one’.

 

“Do you have a place to stay, Kibum? Any relatives I might be able to call?” Jinki says.

 

“I don’t have any family, they didn’t want my dad, either.” Kibum murmurs, voice muffled by the fabric of his jeans. “I’m still living at home, but…” He trails off.

 

“But what?”

 

Kibum looks off to the side. “I ate the last of the food that was in our fridge. That’s why I had to steal.” He turns back towards Jinki with new tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be.” Jinki tells him, and offers his hand as he stands up. They walk side by side back into the dining hall, Jinki’s body shielding Kibum from the curious eyes of the guests. He quickly finds his two most trusted workers, and approaches them without preamble.

 

“Ashley, Joo Hyun, this is Kibum.” They greet the young boy enthusiastically. “Ashley, please prepare a room for him back at the castle. A room close to mine would be preferable.” She bows and briskly makes her way towards the exit. “Joo Hyun, I would like for you to take Kibum to his house and help him pack.” She nods and crouches down to eye level with Kibum, taking his small hand in hers.

 

“What about my dad?” Kibum asks, gazing up at Jinki. He and Joohyun exchange confused looks.

 

“What about your dad?” Jinki says, trying to understand where Kibum was headed with this.

 

“He’s still in his bed.”

 

Jinki almost doesn’t make it to the bathroom before his face is riddled with tears, as if a dam had broken simply from those words. He was crying sympathy tears for Kibum’s pain as well as his own grief, the same grief he had been denying himself to feel for the past month.

 

He wants to thank Kibum later on.

* * *

  


“How come you weren’t at the funeral?” Jinki asks a short woman as he leans against her kitchen counter. She sighs and sets her knife next to the birthday cake she had been cutting.

 

“First of all, I haven’t seen the man in over five years, second of all, I don’t have the money to travel to Aellyn, third of - ”

 

“Hyo Jin, he’s your son’s father.” Jinki interrupts, pointedly tilting his head towards the child stacking Legos into a tower with the help of two friends in the room over.

 

Ms. Lee sighs and rubs at her forehead, leaving a streak of chocolate across her skin. “Speaking of my son, he’s wondering why a strange man he’s never met before suddenly showed up at his birthday party.” She turns back to the cake and resumes cutting it into squares. “Without a gift, mind you.”

 

“I’m his uncle.” Jinki says defensively, folding his arms across his chest.

 

“So what?” Her cuts become more forceful as she continues talking. “I barely know you, Taemin’s never seen you before in his life, and his father left us while he was still in my womb. As far as I’m concerned, none of you are our family.”

 

“That’s why I came here to say I’m sorry.”

 

She halts her cutting for a moment, before resuming again at a much calmer pace. “For what?”

 

“For the way my brother treated you, and how our family never gave a shit about you despite your son being the heir to the throne.” Jinki says, lowering his head. Hyo Jin halts her cutting of the cake. “That’s why I came here today.” She turns towards Jinki, curls falling onto her face.

 

“To apologize for your brother? I understood why he had to leave. I let him go.” She says in a gentle tone Jinki recognizes as the one he uses when he speaks about Robin. “It’s not like he can go against the laws of his country.”

 

“No, that’s not…” Jinki sighs, running his hand through his hair. He looks to the next room over, watching his nephew stand on his toes to try and stack a Lego on top of a tower that’s already at least a foot taller than him. “What are we going to do about Taemin?”

 

“I don’t want him knowing he’s a prince until he’s at least eighteen.” Hyo Jin says with a curt nod, as though she had already thought this over. “I want him to have a somewhat normal childhood.”

 

“I also think that would be best.” Jinki nods.

 

Hyo Jin pauses as she transfers the squares of cake onto Toy Story paper plates. “I wasn’t expecting you to agree so easily.” She chuckles.

 

“Well, I don’t exactly like the thought of another kid going through the shit I had to.” Jinki says. Hyo Jin gives him a stern look and points her thumb towards the children playing in the living room. “Oops. I meant hardships. Yeah.”

 

Hyo Jin rolls her eyes and hands the cake slicer to Jinki. “Here. You can do this, seeing as you’ve only been standing there this whole time.” He takes the utensil from her hand and picks up where she left off as she shifts over to the sink.

 

“I had to leave someone behind because of Aellyn’s laws, same reason why my brother left you.” Jinki says, his grip on the cake slicer becoming weak. “If Taemin decides to inherit the throne…” He stops, and turns around just in time to see Taemin’s Lego tower crash to the ground. Jinki takes a deep breath and looks at Ms. Lee.

  
“I promise, he will never have to give up on love for the sake of his country.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, it's been a hard couple of months. In my defense, I did write three other fics while this one was lying around so. Yeah.


	16. Listen...It's Not THAT Kind of Muffin

The rest of their day went by in mostly the same manner; once Jonghyun and Taemin finished a movie, they moved onto the next, taking breaks now and then to get snacks. At one point, Jonghyun asked if they could watch Homeward Bound, but Taemin fiercely protested, saying “If you play that goddamn movie, I swear to god I’ll use your shirt as a tissue, and my nose runs a lot when I cry.” Jonghyun grimaced and said that was way too much information, but since it worked, Taemin maintained that it was an amazing tactic. Jonghyun couldn’t argue with that logic.

 

As the night grew older, Taemin eventually fell asleep on Jonghyun’s shoulder during Fantasia. Taking extra care to not wake him up, Jonghyun held Taemin’s head in both of his hands and placed him on his pillow. With the laptop settled on their legs, still pouring classical music from its speakers, Jonghyun propped himself on his side to silently admire his boyfriend. Taemin’s skin was bathed a dark blue from the light of the laptop, his plump lips parted slightly as puffs of air slipped through them, making Jonghyun wonder how he managed to control the urge to kiss Taemin before they dated. He raised his hand and hovered it above Taemin’s head as if he was going to run his fingers through his hair, but decided against it with a sigh. Sitting up as carefully as he could, Jonghyun pulled his laptop towards himself and closed the lid. He shivered as his bare feet hit the wood floor, holding his laptop to his chest as he stood next to the bed, Taemin’s sleeping figure barely visible in the darkness. After a moment, he tip-toed towards the bedroom door, taking one last look at Taemin. He made sure not to make a sound as he shut the door behind him before turning around and resting the back of his head against it. The grip on his laptop became even tighter as he sucked in a breath, letting it out in an audible sigh, eyes suddenly heavy.

 

He stood there for what felt like hours, trying to delay going to his own room for as long as possible. The sooner he went to sleep, the sooner he woke up, and he didn’t want tomorrow to come.

 

Because he knew he had to break up with Taemin.

* * *

 

Taemin barely had a moment to rub the sleep from his eyes before he realized the serious lack of Jonghyun in his bed. He only had a moment to be confused when his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Groaning, he snatched one of his extra pillows and placed it on his face, letting out a muffled “come in”, not really caring whether or not the person at the door could hear.

 

They did, however, and let themselves into the room. “Taemin?” Jonghyun’s voice asked from beside Taemin’s bed.

 

Taemin threw the pillow from his face and onto the mattress. He tried opening his eyes a smidgen to look at Jonghyun, but had to shut them tight when the light coming from the windows threatened to blind him. “It’s too bright. Make it stop.” He mumbled, using his arms as an extra barrier from the harsh light.

 

“Well, it is almost summer.” Jonghyun said, heading towards the windows. Taemin heard something metallic being placed on his glass coffee table before the ruffling of his curtains being pulled across the rods. “You can open your eyes now.”

 

“So much...effort…” Taemin whined, sitting up on his bed and managing to open one eye. The eye that was cooperating landed on his coffee table. “You got me breakfast again?”

 

“It’s just coffee and a blueberry muffin, actually.” Jonghyun replied, placing his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t have enough time to cook anything.”

 

Taemin hummed in understanding, kicked his covers off with his legs, and made his way to one of the loveseats across from the table. “Did you sleep well, then?” He said, taking the muffin in his hands.

 

“Better than usual, yeah.” Jonghyun lied through his teeth. He actually hadn’t slept a wink, but since he didn’t want Taemin to worry…

 

He crouched down to sit in the other chair, but Taemin shook his head at him. He paused before Taemin started making grabby motions with his free hand. Belatedly, he stood back up and walked to Taemin, who patted the spot next to him. Jonghyun reluctantly sat next to him, back stiff.

 

Still chewing on his muffin, Taemin rested his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder, not caring about the crumbs that could potentially fall on either of their laps. “Have you thought about going to sleep therapy?” Taemin asked, taking another bite.

 

“A bit.” Jonghyun said, hands clasped in his lap.

 

Taemin finished the muffin in one big bite and lifted his head, facing Jonghyun with stuffed cheeks, who smiled despite himself. He swallowed, with a bit of a struggle, before he said, “You should try it. I really can’t have a sleepy boyfriend. What if you fall asleep during a date?”

 

Jonghyun cleared his throat. “You know, if I start sleeping more, I may not be able to make you breakfast everyday.”

 

“Oh yeah.” Taemin said, reaching across the table and pouring the creamer and sugar into his coffee simultaneously. “You know, there’s this new thing called cereal I was thinking about trying. It only takes one person to make it, too.” He sipped his coffee with a small grin.

 

“In that case, you should definitely try it.” Jonghyun’s smile faltered. “I may not always be here.”

* * *

  
  


_ Well, breakfast was a bust, _ Jonghyun thought, gripping the steering wheel to his limo.  _ But I’m still gonna do it. I’m really gonna break up with Taemin this time.  _ He let out a shaky breath as that last line echoed in his mind.

 

Fuck. He was actually going to do this.

 

He sat stone-faced as he ran through how the conversation would go in his mind before his heart nearly leapt out from his rib cage as the passenger door opened. Jonghyun held his hand to his chest as Taemin chuckled, climbing into the vehicle.

 

“Geez, are you okay?” Taemin said, suppressing another giggle, fastening his seat belt. “I wasn’t expecting you to jump like that.”

 

Jonghyun took his hand from his chest, heart still pounding, and turned the key to start the limo. “I was just...thinking about stuff.”

 

“What kind of stuff?” Taemin asked, leaning towards Jonghyun in anticipation.

 

Jonghyun spared a glance from the road, startled when he was met with Taemin mere centimeters from his face. He looked away, blushing, and Taemin laughed again and closed the distance with a kiss to Jonghyun’s cheek before settling back into his own chair.

 

“Why’re you so jumpy today? Is it because of the scary guy in Fantasia?” Taemin cooed in an exaggerated baby tone, pinching Jonghyun’s cheek. “Did he scare my little Jjongie-hyung?”

 

“Chernabog. And no, he didn’t.” Jonghyun answered, nudging Taemin’s hand away. “And don’t ever call me fucking ‘little Jjongie’ again.”

 

“Okay, regular sized Jjongie.” Taemin laughed when Jonghyun shot him a glare, one hand covering his mouth and the other clutching his stomach.

 

It was then that Jonghyun knew this was another bust.

* * *

  
  


After his plan B fell through, Jonghyun quickly devised his third plan; breaking up with Taemin on the way back home. It was foolproof.

 

The only downside was that he had to mentally prepare himself all over again. Staring blankly ahead, it took him a moment after seeing Taemin approaching the car to actually register who he was.

 

And he was not alone.

 

Jonghyun could only watch from the driver seat as Taemin walked right past the side door, followed by Minho. The back door was opened instead and their excited conversation moved to the back seat, Taemin only pausing it for a moment to quickly ask Jonghyun if he wouldn’t mind taking Minho back to the mansion with them.

 

He waved his hand in dismissal and started the ignition, fighting the urge to smack his head against the steering wheel. 

 

There goes plan C.

* * *

  
  


“Karaoke?” Taemin asked, incredulous.

 

“Hell yeah!” Kibum said, wrapping his arm around Minho’s shoulders, who was sitting on his lap. “I got free passes because my cousin’s sister’s aunt didn’t want them, so now I have them.”

 

“Should Minho really be sitting on your lap while you’re working?” Jonghyun said, pointedly looking at Kibum’s desk and the still-open laptop on it.

 

“Like I haven’t done worse.” Kibum replied, rolling his eyes.

 

“Why me though? Couldn’t you have roped someone else into this?” Taemin whined as he crossed his arms, pretending to be annoyed. He actually really wanted to spend time with Minho, not that he’d ever let Kibum know that.

 

“Minho wanted you to come with.” Kibum scoffed. “Like I would ever ask you to be our token stick in the mud. I’m not  _ that _ desperate.”

 

Taemin opened his mouth in protest before Minho interrupted, “We just have to get him drunk, Bummie.” Minho said, clutching Kibum’s shirt collar. “Come on, we can’t go by ourselves. We wouldn’t even get any singing done.”

 

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Kibum replied, tilting his head.

 

Taemin curled his upper lip in disgust. “Just for that, I’m going to purposefully cockblock you two the entire time.”

 

“So you’ll come with?!” Minho beamed, nearly bouncing out of Kibum’s lap.

 

Taemin nodded. “If only just to annoy you.”

 

“In that case, I’ll leave you guys to it.” Jonghyun said, starting towards the hallway, hands in his pockets.

 

“Uh, think again dickwad.” Kibum’s voice halted him in his tracks. “If Minho gets to bring someone along, so do I. You’re coming too.”

 

Jonghyun turned around and glared at Kibum. “Seriously?”

 

Kibum smiled in a way Jonghyun thought made him look like the devil. “Wouldn’t want to leave Taemin alone with us, now would you?”

 

“Can you not?” Taemin spoke from the side.

 

“See? He wants you to come along, too.” Kibum said, gesturing towards Taemin.

 

“I meant can you not make sexual jokes about me, asshole.” Taemin said, and Kibum flipped him off. Taemin returned the gesture before turning towards Jonghyun. “Although, I  _ would _ like it much better if you were there with me, hyung.” He said, blush creeping up his cheeks. “It’ll be just like the other day in the video game room.”

 

Jonghyun met Taemin’s eyes, giving him a soft look that Taemin knew meant ‘yes’. Taemin laughed behind his hand, casting his eyes downwards.

 

Minho confusedly looked between the two. “Wait, what happened in the video game room?” He suddenly gasped and his already large eyes widened in realization. “Aw sick, I SAT on that couch, you guys!”

* * *

  
  


“OF THE WOOOOOOORLD!!!!” Minho shouted at the top of his lungs, dramatically falling on his knees. He looked up to his three friends on the couch, seeking approval. Jonghyun clapped while Taemin and Kibum silently ate from their bag of shrimp crackers.

 

“I…” Minho paused as he breathed heavily, “I feel like you two are judging me.”

 

“We are.” Taemin and Kibum answered simultaneously, both turning and sneering at each other.

 

Minho snorted, walking across the dimly lit room to hand the mic to the next performer, who happened to be Jonghyun. “It’s a shame you two hate each other; you’re a lot alike.”

 

“No we’re not!” They shouted at the same time, before Taemin pushed against Kibum’s face and scooched away from him and closer to Jonghyun. 

 

“Name five differences.” Minho said, plopping down next to Kibum.

 

Taemin hummed in thought, quickly finding an answer when he saw Jonghyun holding a tablet in the corner of his eye. “I have better taste in men than you do.” Taemin said, wrapping himself around Jonghyun’s arm. Jonghyun tensed and continued searching for a song.

 

Kibum let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah, I’m so glad I chose Minho instead of an old dude who lied to his boyfriend.” He replied, mouth full of chewed up crackers. Taemin kicked him in the thigh, causing a bit of food to fly out of his mouth as he sputtered.

 

“Ow!” Kibum yelled, placing his hand over the inflicted area. “You’re not supposed to actually hurt me!”

 

“Well you’re not supposed to stick your stupid face into other people’s relationships but you did anyways.” Taemin said, sticking out his tongue.

 

“Oh look, I found a song, everyone listen to me sing now!” Jonghyun stood and walked closer to the television, leaving Taemin behind on the couch, who just laid down where Jonghyun had been.

 

The sound of a piano playing filled the room as Jonghyun held the mic up to his lips. “ _ You’re so rock and roll, roll, _ ” He sang.

 

He couldn’t even make it one line into the song before Kibum started talking over him, making him roll his eyes.

 

“We should be in a boy band.” Kibum said.

 

“Why? Do you need your dick waxed even more than it is?” Taemin asked, lying on his back. Kibum raised his hand to slap him but Minho grabbed his wrist, interlocking their fingers instead.

 

“I was being serious. We have you, the dancer.” Taemin opened his mouth to ask how he knew that but Kibum kept talking, “Jonghyun, the singer, Minho, the one no one can figure out why he’s there...” Minho’s eyebrows raised and he stared at Kibum in disbelief. Kibum pecked his lips quickly before continuing, “You know I love you.” Minho pouted but let him continue. “And then of course there’s me, the one who’s good at everything.” He said, smirking.

 

Taemin spit a bit of his soju out.

 

“Good at  _ what,  _ exactly?!” Taemin laughed, soju dripping from his chin.

 

“Oh you know, singing, dancing, acting, being gorgeous, the usual stuff.” Kibum said, counting each of his talents on his hand. “I’m the eighth wonder of the universe.” Taemin laughed again, making Kibum scowl.

 

“If anyone here is all those things, it’s Taemin.” Jonghyun interrupted, finished with his song. He passed the mic to Kibum, who all but snatched it from him. He rolled his eyes and sat on the very edge of the couch, trying to fit in the small space left that wasn’t occupied by Taemin.

 

Taemin turned his head to face Jonghyun, eyeing the way he was about to fall off at any second. “Hey dork, you’re supposed to lift my head and put it on your lap.”

 

Jonghyun paused, eyes darting around uncertainly. He mentally cursed himself before deciding to do just what Taemin had said. It’s not like he could say anything to Taemin right  _ now _ .

 

“I’ll prove that I’m the best.” Kibum said, briskly rising from the couch and bounding towards the screen, as if being closer to the lyrics would help him sing better. “Prepare your ears because this is going to break them.”

 

“Is that a...good thing?” Taemin asked.

 

“Maybe not for you, but it is for me!” Kibum laughed, high pitched voice reverberating through the speakers. 

 

Taemin sighed, grabbing his soju glass from the table. He was gonna need it for this.

* * *

  
  


As the night went on, the weirder the song choices became and the louder the boys were. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to make karaoke booths mostly soundproof was a very smart individual. They weren’t too worried about volume control because of the soundproofing. And also because the youngest two were very drunk, the elders having more years to build up a tolerance. However, even in his hazy state of mind, Jonghyun could mentally slap himself for not remembering Taemin’s drinking habit.

 

“Hyuuung~” Taemin sing-songed, arms grasped firmly around Jonghyun’s neck. He was sitting on top of Jonghyun’s lap, who had placed the palms of his hands awkwardly on the couch cushions.

 

“What is it, Taeminnie?” Jonghyun asked, choosing to look at Kibum and Minho doing some kind of interpretive dance with the tambourines they had found instead of  Taemin.

 

“Gimme a kiss!” Taemin said, puckering his lips. Jonghyun unconsciously bit his own in worry, which Taemin mistook as arousal, leaning in closer.

 

Jonghyun’s head hit the wall behind him trying to back away. “You smell like alcohol and shrimp.” He said, placing his hand over Taemin’s mouth and gently trying to push him away. He shouted in disgust after Taemin licked his palm, quickly pulling his hand away.

 

“I’ll just kiss somewhere else then.” Taemin hummed, lowering his head to Jonghyun’s neck. Jonghyun squeezed his eyes shut; inexperience and alcohol combining into kisses that were wet and sloppy and just plain uncomfortable. Not to mention that Kibum and Minho were still there, tripling the awkwardness of the situation.

 

“Taemin, stop.” Jonghyun said, lightly pushing against Taemin’s shoulders until he detached his mouth from Jonghyun’s neck.

 

“What is it?” Taemin smiled, lips shimmering and forehead slick with sweat. Jonghyun nearly groaned.

 

“I…” He choked out, mouth hanging open dumbly as he searched Taemin’s face. “I can’t do this.”

 

“Do what?” Taemin asked, tilting his head to the side.

 

Taking a deep breath through his nose to help clear his mind, Jonghyun spoke, eyes focused on Taemin’s. “I can’t do this. With you. Not anymore.”

 

Sitting back on his heels, Taemin’s face went sullen with realization. “What do you mean?” He said, voice suddenly weak.

 

“We have to stop this, Taemin-ah. I’m sorry.”

  
Taemin didn’t spare a passing glance as he stood up, shutting the door on his way out.


	17. The Last Melon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for frank discussion of mental illness, an added bonus to a panic attack ✌️ Epilogue is here http://archiveofourown.org/works/11659896

The only sound left in the small karaoke room after Taemin had slammed the door was the bubbly pop music pulsating from the speakers. Minho and Kibum had stopped belting the lyrics after Taemin had stormed out, gaping at the door in shock before turning around to stare at Jonghyun.

 

“What the fuck did you - ” Kibum started, only to cut himself off when Jonghyun sprang from the couch and rushed towards the door, scampering backwards for a second to hastily grab the empty plastic bag on the table.

 

His eyes frantically searched the hallway, quickly realizing it was empty and cursing under his breath. He sprinted towards the building entrance, slamming his palms against the surface louder than he had meant to and startling the man behind the counter.

 

“Did you see a boy leave just now?” Jonghyun asked the man, slightly out of breath. The man nodded and was about to say something, but Jonghyun was already out the doors before he could get the first word out.

 

Jonghyun looked for Taemin’s familiar face amongst the few stragglers still outside at night, rising on his toes in order to see over their heads. He ran his free hand through his hair in annoyance, taking in a sharp inhale of breath. Frustrated, he turned around to go back inside and ask the man if he had seen which way Taemin had gone, only to pause when he saw him sitting on the pavement, back against the wall, and head lowered onto his knees.

 

“Taemin.” Jonghyun gasped, crouching down to Taemin’s level. He reached out a hand to brush Taemin’s hair aside only for Taemin to push him away. “Do - ” He took a moment to catch his breath, “Are you having a panic attack?” Jonghyun asked, already holding the plastic bag in front of him.

 

Taemin glared at the bag from underneath his bangs. “No, I’m not.” He mumbled into his arms, barely audible to Jonghyun’s ears.

 

Jonghyun breathed a sigh of relief and set the bag on the ground, not caring if the wind blew it away. “I’m so, so sorry Taemin, I shouldn’t have told you like that. I was just overwhelmed and I wasn’t thinking and I’m so - ”

 

“So you really meant it then?” Taemin spat, head rising. “You don’t like me anymore?”

 

“I never said that - ”

 

“Then why?!” He yelled, now looking Jonghyun dead in the eye. “Why would you say that?!”

 

Jonghyun felt a pang in his chest at the way Taemin looked at him in utter resentment. He promised himself he wouldn’t hurt Taemin again, and now… “Taeminnie, please…” Jonghyun said, keeping his voice calm. He placed a hand on Taemin’s, but he pulled away once more. “Can we please just talk about this tomorrow, maybe when both our heads are little clearer?”

 

“I’m not drunk.” Taemin said defensively, lowering his eyebrows. “I’m just...uh…” His forehead creased as he thought of the word he wanted to use.

 

“Tipsy?” Jonghyun offered.

 

“Yeah. That.” Taemin sighed and dropped his head into his arms again. “I want to talk about this now.”

 

Jonghyun sat down onto the ground so he wasn’t crouching anymore and killing his knees. “Okay, Taemin-ah. We’ll do what you want.”

 

“What I  _ want _ is to not be having this fucking conversation.” He said with a little edge, eyes darting to the the side.

 

Jonghyun reached out for Taemin’s hand again and this time he didn’t pull away. “We both knew it was going to happen sooner or later, Taemin-ah.” He said, rubbing his thumb against Taemin’s knuckles.

 

“I didn’t.” Taemin huffed. “And don’t call me by my nickname when I’m mad at you.”

 

“Sorry.” Jonghyun murmured, patting Taemin’s hand. “I just...I thought it would be better to end this sooner rather than later, that’s all.” He bit his lip. Although it was the truth, it still sounded like a lame excuse, even to his own ears.

 

Taemin let out a cold laugh. “Really? I’ve liked you for  _ months _ now. You’re my first boyfriend  _ and _ first kiss. Did you seriously expect this not to hurt me?”

 

“This hurts me too, Taemin!” Jonghyun said, holding his free hand to his chest. “I was just trying to be reasonable, that’s all.”

 

“Why would you go and do something stupid like being reasonable?” Taemin scoffed. “That’s not the Jonghyun I know.”

 

Jonghyun looked down to the ground, hand falling to his side. “I just want what’s best for you.”

 

“Oh my GOD, you two.” A voice said from above the pair. They raised their heads to see Kibum, the source of the voice, and Minho, who looked much more worried and less terrifying. “If you don’t want to break up, then don’t. It’s not that hard of a concept.”

 

“But what about the law?” Jonghyun asked, followed by a rather unattractive snort from Kibum.

 

“Who gives a shit about the law?” Kibum said, crossing his arms. Everyone turned and stared at him in disbelief. “...I do.” He sputtered. “Obviously. But I mean, King Jinki has been trying to get rid of that dumb law for  _ years _ now, I’m sure that - ”

 

“He did what now?” Taemin spoke up, his interest in this conversation suddenly increasing.

 

“You didn’t know?” Kibum tsked, slapping Jonghyun upside the head. “Idiot. Why didn’t you tell him?”

 

Jonghyun glared at Kibum and rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t worked for King Jinki that long, you asshole.”

 

“Oh, right.” Kibum replied flippantly, placing his arm around Minho’s shoulders. “Well, I’m already working on a plan, you know, but even if the law never goes through, you’ll always have us to fight for you.”

 

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Taemin said.

 

Kibum opened his mouth to tell Taemin off, but was cut off when Minho began talking. “Wait, why exactly would I be fighting for him?” His face heated as he realized what he had said. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to, it just seems a bit difficult since I’ll still be in Korea.”

 

“Who said you were staying in Korea?” Kibum asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re coming home with me, whether you like it or not.”

 

Minho blushed at the obvious double meaning behind his words. “B-but my family is still here.” He said, wringing his hands together.

 

“Guess I’ll just have to make myself a part of your family.” Kibum said.

 

Taemin blinked. Minho’s jaw hung open. Jonghyun looked disgusted. A car honked in the distance.

 

“Oh my god, did you fucking plan this?” Jonghyun scowled, disappointment clear on his face.

 

“Absolutely. It was all part of my elaborate scheme to propose to Minho at a shitty karaoke place.” Kibum rolled his eyes. “Too bad I forgot the ring.”

 

“Hyung, I know you’re joking but I’m not entirely opposed to the idea.” Minho hurriedly blurted out, looking out into the distance and then at the ground.

 

Jonghyun nearly pinched himself to make sure he was seeing things right when a blush creeped up Kibum’s neck. “Ah.” Kibum said.

 

“Why must you two rub it in.” Taemin groaned, bringing his legs up and shoving his face on his kneecaps again. Jonghyun frowned at Minho and Kibum before crawling over to Taemin’s side and rubbing his back.

 

“Well.” Kibum cleared his throat, blush steadily rising to his cheeks. “Just, uh, give me a few months first so I can try again properly.” 

 

Minho smiled down at him. “Hopefully with a ring next time.”

 

Without meaning to, Taemin’s gaze fell onto his left hand that was resting on his knee. Jonghyun followed his eyes and placed his palm on Taemin’s hand, giving him a small smile. Taemin lifted his head and mirrored Jonghyun’s expression, growing bigger the longer they stared at each other.

 

“Are we okay?” Jonghyun asked. Taemin thought his eyes looked like stars as they glimmered in anticipation, the lights of the street reflecting off the dark irises.

 

“Yeah.” Taemin replied, voice almost catching in his throat. “We’re okay.”

* * *

  
  


_ 3 weeks later _

 

“Okay, but why purple?” Taemin asked, turning around and inspecting himself in the mirror. He was suited in a violet, silk tuxedo, with a white undershirt and black bow tie that didn’t necessarily look  _ bad  _ in his opinion, he just didn’t understand why it was anything other than black. In fact, he didn’t even know tuxes  _ came _ in other colors.

 

“When I met you your hair was purple, now you suddenly hate the color?” Kibum scoffed from his place on the floor, where he was folding and pinning the ends of Taemin’s pants.

 

Before Taemin could reply, the door to his room opened and Jonghyun walked through, holding three drinks in his hands. Kibum stood up so Jonghyun could hand him one, the next going to Taemin and the last staying with him.

 

“Jonghyun,” Kibum said after he stook a sip of his juice, “Asking you to get us drinks was a nice way of me telling you to go away and let me work.”

 

“You can still work with me here.” Jonghyun replied, plopping down onto a chair.

 

“It’s extremely distracting.” Kibum deadpanned.

 

Jonghyun let out a noise of mock offense and raised his hands defensively. “I’m not even doing anything!”

 

“It’s a mirror, Jonghyun. Don’t think I can’t see you two making goo-goo eyes at each other.” Kibum turned and worked on one of Taemin’s sleeves so he didn’t have to lay on the floor again. Taemin lowered his head as a blush formed on his cheeks.

 

“Well I’m not leaving him alone with you.” Jonghyun said, pointing an accusatory finger towards Kibum. “I don’t trust you.”

 

Kibum’s hands fell to his sides and he threw his head back. “First of all, I’m not some kind of douchebag who hits on someone else’s boyfriend.” He resumed his work on Taemin’s sleeve. “Second of all, I’m kinda sorta engaged, so.”

 

“That’s not even what I was referring to, but congratulations, I guess.” Jonghyun responded.

 

“For the record, I don’t trust you, either.” Taemin said, followed by a yelp as one of Kibum’s pins poked his wrist.

 

Jonghyun got up and hurried to Taemin’s side to inspect the damage. Taemin patted Jonghyun’s shoulder in reassurance. “I’m not bleeding, it just surprised me.” He said.

 

“Full offense, but like, isn’t there staff around here who should be doing this?” Jonghyun retorted, pushing Kibum’s hands away and pulling Taemin’s arm to his face to see for himself that Taemin was unharmed.

 

Kibum scoffed and grabbed Taemin’s arm back and glared at Jonghyun. “Yes, there are. And I’m the one who asked to do it.”

 

“Why’d you do that?” Taemin said, genuinely curious and trying to relieve some of the tension in the room.

 

“Because I wanted to.” Kibum said. Jonghyun let out a ‘pfft’ and walked back to his chair, keeping a close eye on the pins in Kibum’s hand once he sat down. “Anyways, to answer your question from before,” Kibum continued, checking the length of the sleeve, “It’s purple because black tuxedos are boring and overused.” He nodded and walked around to the opposite side of Taemin. “If it makes you feel less weird, my tux is gonna have flowers on it.” He looked over his shoulder and smirked at Jonghyun. “And Jonghyun’s is going to be yellow.”

 

Jonghyun choked on his tea, hitting himself on the chest in an attempt not to spit it out. “Jonghyun’s gonna wear what now?” He asked, wiping his lips.

 

“To complement Taemin’s purple, of course!”

 

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

 

“Orange?”

 

“No.”

 

“Red?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Kibum glared at him. “Fine, do what you want. Just don’t wear fucking blue or else you’ll clash.”

 

“Oh I’m DEFINITELY gonna wear blue now.” Jonghyun smirked and leaned back in his chair.

 

Kibum’s arms dropped to his sides as he let out a groan. “Fine, make him look stupid the night of his first speech, see if I care.”

 

Taemin’s body immediately tensed at the word ‘speech’. “Could you maybe, like, not mention that?” He grumbled.

 

“What?” Kibum said, placing his leftover pins on a dresser now that he was done. “You’ve been practicing, right? There’s no reason I can’t talk about it.”

 

“Uh, yes there is.” Taemin scoffed and gestured to himself. “You fucked up a perfectly good Taemin. Look at me, I’ve got anxiety.”

 

The loveseat screeched against the wooden floors as Jonghyun hastily rose from it, stopping at Taemin’s side. “Are you okay? Do you need your meds? A bag? Kibum, go get Taemin a fucking ba - ”

 

Taemin rolled his eyes, pulling Jonghyun’s hands away from where he was coddling his face. “I’m fine right now, hyung.” He pressed a kiss to Jonghyun’s nose. “Just...worry about me the night of the ceremony, okay?”

 

“But I worry about you all the time.” Jonghyun pouted.

 

“Both of you disgust me.” Kibum said, face pulled into a grimace.

 

“You can leave, you know.” Taemin said, pulling Jonghyun closer specifically to piss Kibum off more. “My suit’s finished, so we’re done here, right?”

 

“First of all, it’s not  _ finished _ until I make someone sew it for me. Second of all, you’re gonna have to take it off before you even think about doing anything with Jonghyun.” Kibum said. “I’m not letting you mess up my hard work with...whatever it is you two do.”

 

Taemin let out a frustrated huff of air through his nose. “Fine, I’ll take it off.”

 

“Would you, uh…” Jonghyun trailed off, backing away from Taemin and pointing towards the bedroom door with his thumb, “...like me to leave?”

 

“Yes, please.” Taemin replied, slapping away Kibum’s hands that were already trying to undo his jacket buttons. “I’ll meet you in your room, okay?”

 

One of Kibum’s sharp laughs escaped his lips, but Jonghyun interrupted him with an “okay” before he could say whatever nasty shit they all knew he was planning on saying.

 

“I have condoms upstairs if you need any.” He said after Jonghyun left, struggling not to snicker.

 

Instead, the only sound he made was a yelp as Taemin hit his chest.

* * *

  
  


“Taemin-ah, I’m ready to - ”

 

Jonghyun stopped himself once he entered Taemin’s room, only to find all the lights off and Taemin curled up on the mattress. Heart dropping to his stomach, he rushed over to the bed and lightly pushed on Taemin’s shoulder until he turned around and faced Jonghyun. Taemin was covered in a cold sweat that stained the collar of his white shirt, breathing so harshly that his whole body shook. Jonghyun cursed under his breath and hurriedly made his way towards the bathroom, haphazardly opening the cabinet behind the mirror and grabbing the pill bottle inside. He filled one of the paper cups with water and rushed back to Taemin, spilling some in his haste.

 

Placing his arm under Taemin’s back, Jonghyun pulled Taemin into a sitting position, raising the cup to his lips. Taemin grabbed it himself with weak fingers, holding the water in his mouth until he plucked the pill from Jonghyun’s hand and pushed it past his lips. He sat hunched over on his bed as rubbed his back, talking him through their breathing exercise.

 

Once Taemin’s breathing was more or less steady, Jonghyun rested his head on Taemin’s back. “I’m so fucking sorry, I thought you would be okay if I left to go get ready for a few minutes, I’m such an idiot, I’m so - ”

 

“This was going to happen whether you were here or not.” Taemin said, voice raspy. He cleared his throat and shrugged Jonghyun off so he could finish the rest of his water. “I’ve practiced this stupid speech a hundred times and it still doesn’t help. If I mess up, not only will all the guests notice, but so will the reporters, and then the reporters will make articles about me, and - ” His breathing sped up again and Jonghyun timed their inhales and exhales aloud once more until he calmed down, holding his hands. “I want to do well, hyung.” Taemin continued, voice almost a whisper. “I don’t want anyone to think I can’t handle this, because I really do want to help people, and I just - ” He let out a sob. “What if I have an attack on stage and they think I’m crazy? What if no one trusts me after that and all this preparing was for nothing?”

 

“Having an illness doesn’t make you crazy, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun replied in a soft voice, tracing a finger up and down Taemin’s arm in a repetitive motion.

 

Taemin let out a bitter laugh. “Of course you’d think that. You have illnesses too. Other people won’t see it that way.”

 

“Your uncle has depression, you know.” Jonghyun stated, finger stopping for a second before resuming the calming gesture.

 

Taemin blinked. “Wait, really?”

 

“Well yeah.” Jonghyun said. “And it’s not like it’s a secret or anything, like I’m pretty sure basically everyone in Aellyn knows about it. People still trust him and look to him for leadership, and I don’t know of anyone thinks of him any less because of it. And if anyone does, they’re an asshole, because I mean, who else would be able to console an entire country that just lost a prince, even though it was his own brother?” He shifted closer to Taemin and placed one hand on his cheek, coaxing Taemin into facing him. “Just because you’re sick doesn’t mean you can’t chase after anything you want.”

 

Taemin looked down sheepishly. “Thank you, hyung.” He said, and leaned forward as if he was going to kiss Jonghyun before pulling back. “Sorry, you probably don’t want to kiss me if I’m all sweaty.” He let out a weak laugh.

 

A smirk played across Jonghyun’s face before his lips pressed against Taemin’s nose, cheeks, and forehead. “Try me.” he said.

 

Taemin blushed and looked off to the side. “I should go get ready now, I wasted a lot of time…” He mumbled, silently scolding himself.

 

“Okay, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun agreed, pulling away from Taemin’s face. Taemin’s knees wobbled a bit when he stood up to walk towards the bathroom, but Jonghyun grabbed his waist before he fell. “I’ll be here when you get back.” He said, sitting down on the comforter again.

 

Taemin stopped in the doorway and looked back at Jonghyun. “Thank you.”

* * *

  
  


“What’s that thing in your ear for?” Minho asked an anxious looking Kibum, poking at the small black contraption.

 

Kibum pushed Minho’s hand away without looking up from his checklist. “It lets me hear and talk to anyone else wearing one so we can keep track of everything.” He replied, flipping between two of the pages and mumbling to himself.

 

Minho hummed, placing his hands in the pockets of his black trousers. He peered over the heads of the crowd, not really searching for anything in particular. It was difficult to see the marble floors because of the mass of people, but no one had to wonder what it looked like, as it was the same marble as the pillars rising to the ceiling, encircling a round skylight window which showcased the stormy night outside.

 

Too bad Minho didn’t care about that. He studied the architecture for maybe five seconds before leaning down and dropping his head onto Kibum’s shoulder.

 

“Hyung, I’m bored.” He whined.

 

“I know baby, but I’m really busy right now.” Kibum tried not to let his frustration seep into his tone. “Go talk to someone.”

 

“But I don’t know anyone here and they’re probably, like, a bunch of rich aristocrats.” Minho gestured to the elegantly dressed people. “I can’t just  _ talk _ to them.”

 

“Guess you’re screwed by something other than me, then.” Kibum sighed. 

 

Minho took a second to register that sentence in his mind. “Why would you say that in  _ publi _ \- ”

 

He was cut off when the golden side doors opened, letting in a gust of wind and four people; two guards holding up umbrellas shielding Jonghyun and Taemin from the rain.

 

“Are we late?” Jonghyun asked, the two of them approaching Kibum.

 

“What the fuck are you wearing?” Taemin said before Kibum could reply.

 

Kibum glared at Taemin but answered Jonghyun regardless. “No, you still have like five minutes. You should probably get backstage, though.”

 

“Thanks.” Jonghyun replied, turning towards Taemin. “Okay, Taemin-ah, you got this.”

 

“You’re not coming backstage with me?” Taemin asked, already feeling a pit form in his stomach.

 

“I don’t think I can.” Jonghyun said, gauging Taemin’s reaction. He held Taemin’s hands in his own when Taemin raised his thumbnail to his mouth, recognizing his nervous habit. “Taemin-ah.” He said softly, prompting Taemin to look up and into his eyes. “You can do this. Nobody is going to judge you and I’ll be in the audience the whole time, okay?”

 

“Okay.” Taemin whispered, looking to the ground again.

 

“Hey.” Jonghyun placed his hand on Taemin’s cheek once more. “No one can be better at this than you.” He thought for a moment. “Just imagine everybody as a puppy because puppies love everyone unconditionally.”

 

Taemin giggled and Jonghyun gave himself an imaginary high five. “Thank you, hyung. Again.”

 

“Anything for you, Taemin-ah.” He said before kissing the tip of Taemin’s nose. “I’m so proud of you for making it this far and I love you so much.”

 

“I love you too.” Taemin said for the first time. “I’m gonna go now.” Jonghyun didn’t even hear that last part because the first part kept replaying in his head.  _ He loves me back. Taemin loves me back. _

 

Jonghyun wasn’t pulled out of his trance until he heard Jinki’s voice through the speakers, introducing Taemin to the guests. He hurried to the platform and stood as close to Taemin’s podium at as he could. Luckily most of the guests weren’t too concerned with standing as close to the stage as humanly possible like Jonghyun was.

 

When Jinki extended his hand towards Taemin as his cue to come out, Jonghyun had to physically restrain himself from shouting out like he was at a concert. Taemin placed his cue cards on the podium, not without a bit of a shaky hand, and looked out to the crowd, jaw set.

 

“Good evening everyone, I’m Lee Taemin. Tonight, I stand before you with every intention of becoming your prince. I want to follow my father’s legacy, and my uncle’s footsteps, doing the highest quality work possible in order to help shape our country and our world into a place we can be proud of.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped. “However,” at this word, the room became tangibly tense and the reporters at the back of the room stretched their mics even closer to the podium, “I believe that all human beings should be treated with equity. And as of right now, my family, including myself, are being denied a right that many of us take for granted; the right to love who we choose.” Hushed whispers raked through the crowd and Taemin’s fingers twitched against the podium. “Currently, I am in love with a man who I could see myself living the rest of my life with. But because of our Bill of Rights, created in 1812, I am not free to marry whom I choose. We tried to ignore our feelings, only to realize they were too strong, which left me with a difficult decision to make; leave the man I love, or give up on the country that needs me. But with the help of a friend, we realized I may not have to make this decision. Rather, the people will decide for me.” He looked straight on at the cameras livestreaming the ceremony. “I urge you, if you believe my family and I should have the right to marry who we choose, please call Parliament. Ask them to overturn the law as our inside efforts have proved to be fruitless. Regardless of the turnout, I choose to be forevermore Lee Taemin, Prince of Aellyn. Thank you.”

 

The crowd applauded politely, even more people choosing to whisper to one another now that the clapping would overpower their voices. Taemin let out a long breath now that he was finished, almost turning to leave the platform before remembering he had to pose with his uncle for photos. Jinki stood shoulder to shoulder with Taemin, smiling much more naturally than Taemin was. When the flashes died out, he pulled Taemin into a hug and whispered into his ear a quick “you were amazing” before pulling back.

 

“Thank you, Uncle Jinki.” Taemin said, smiling at him. He almost felt as if he was seeing his uncle in a new light, and now had another reason to look forward to moving to Aellyn.

 

Taemin found Jonghyun, Kibum, and Minho shortly after leaving the stage and they all took turns giving him a hug (Kibum’s was a little more than awkward but no one dared to mention it) and Minho couldn’t stop grinning.

 

“Kibum said that the phone lines have already started ringing back in Aellyn!” He said, bouncing slightly. “This could actually work!”

 

“Yeah, well, don’t get your hopes up  _ too _ high.” Kibum said sarcastically, only to be met with glares from three different pairs of eyes. “What? I was kidding!”

 

“Taemin.” Jonghyun said, turning to face Taemin, eyes serious. “I just want you to know that no matter how this turns out, I will always be with you.”

 

“I know, hyung.” Taemin grinned, leftover jitters still fading out.

 

“I’ll always love you no matter what, you know that?” Jonghyun said playfully, taking Taemin into his arms and rubbing their noses together.

 

“I know.” Taemin replied, hand reaching behind Jonghyun’s head to pull him in for a kiss. “Love you, too.”


End file.
